"The IDF has just carried out a pinpoint strike on the central headquarters of the Hezbollah terrorist organization ... The headquarters was deliberately built under residential buildings in the center of the Dahiyeh neighborhood in Beirut,” Hagari said.
The Israeli army tried to eliminate Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah by striking Beirut, but their attempt failed, Al Arabiya broadcaster reported on Friday.
The IDF struck Hezbollah's headquarters after intelligence confirmed that Hassan Nasrallah was present there, but his fate remains unclear, reports Israeli Channel 13.
Meanwhile, the Iranian Tasnim news agency, citing a security source, reports that Hassan Nasrallah is in a safe location, and the information being spread by Israeli media is not accurate.
Within hours of the initial strike, Hagari announced that additional airstrikes were underway to target three buildings providing cover for "strategic assets" belonging to Hezbollah in the densely-populated city.
"As part of the extensive aerial operation to degrade Hezbollah's terrorist infrastructure and capabilities, we are preparing to conduct strikes on strategic assets that Hezbollah has hidden underground beneath three buildings in the heart of the Dahieh in Beirut," Hagari said.
About 10 strong explosions were heard in Beirut as part of the first operation, with smoke being seen in the southern suburbs of the city, a Sputnik correspondent had reported. Car alarms went off in the center of the Lebanese capital due to the force of the explosions, as panic erupted among people in the streets, the correspondent added.
Latest figures from the Lebanese Ministry of Health's Emergency Response Center detailed that six people were killed and 91 others were injured as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the southern suburb of Beirut. Figures are expected to rise as additional strikes were announced by Hagari.
At least six buildings have collapsed as a result of an Israeli airstrike on the southern suburbs of Beirut, Al Arabiya broadcaster reported on Friday.
Israeli strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday were the most powerful attack on the city in nearly a year of the conflict between Israel and Lebanese Shia moment Hezbollah, Reuters reported, citing sources.
Israel began a massive bombing campaign, codenamed Northern Arrows, in southern and eastern parts of Lebanon on Monday. The Lebanese Health Ministry put the death toll at over 1,500. Hezbollah retaliated by firing dozens of rockets toward northern Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decided to cut short his visit to the United States in light of the events in Lebanon, with a flight to Israel scheduled for Friday evening, Netanyahu's office said on Friday.
"Prime Minister Netanyahu has decided to expedite his return to Israel, he will fly out of the United States tonight," the statement said.
US Not Involved in IDF Strike on Beirut, Had No Advance Warning - Pentagon
The United States was not involved, nor did it receive advance warning on the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) airstrike on the main headquarters of Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said on Friday.
"Secretary [Lloyd] Austin spoke by phone earlier today to his Israeli counterpart Minister [Yoav] Gallant," Singh said during a press briefing. "The United States was not involved in this operation, and we had no advanced warning."
The United States is still assessing the situation after massive strikes on Beirut and will continue calls with Israel to gather more details, the spokesperson added.
New Series of Explosions Is Heard in Beirut
A new series of seven explosions was heard from the side of the southern suburb of Beirut, a Sputnik correspondent reported.
Earlier, a series of explosions was heard due to an Israeli airstrike on a neighborhood of Beirut.
Afterwards, the sounds of seven powerful explosions were heard, including from the center of Beirut.
Hezbollah Says Buildings Israel Strikes in Beirut Suburbs Do Not Contain Weapons
Hezbollah has denied the allegations that weapons are stored in buildings in the southern suburbs of Beirut that the Israeli Air Force is currently bombing.
Earlier, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) called on residents of two neighborhoods in the southern suburbs of Beirut to immediately evacuate because, according to the IDF, Hezbollah facilities were allegedly located there, and then began carrying out airstrikes on these neighborhoods.
"The enemy's false claims about weapons or weapons caches in residential buildings that it just struck in the southern suburbs of Beirut are not true," Hezbollah said in a statement posted on the Islamic Resistance Telegram channel.
Israel Defense Forces Says Killed Hezbollah Commanders in Southern Lebanon
The IDF said it had killed the commander of a Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah missile unit in southern Lebanon, as well as a number of other commanders.
"The IAF [Israeli Air Force] struck and eliminated the terrorist Muhammad Ali Ismail, the Commander of Hezbollah’s Missile Unit in southern Lebanon, and his deputy, the terrorist Hussein Ahmad Ismail. Additional Hezbollah commanders and operatives were eliminated alongside them," the IDF said in a statement on Telegram.
A Sputnik correspondent earlier reported a series of about 10 explosions in Beirut on Friday evening. Later, IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the Israeli Air Force carried out a targeted airstrike on the Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut, located under residential buildings in the center of the Dahieh area.
Hezbollah has not commented to confirm or deny Ismail's death at press time.
IDF Urges Beirut Suburb Neighborhood Residents to Evacuate Immediately
The IDF has called on residents of another neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburbs to evacuate immediately because, according to the IDF, the area is allegedly housing Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah's facilities.
Earlier, the Israeli army urged residents of some houses in two neighborhoods in Beirut's southern suburbs to evacuate immediately, after which it began carrying out airstrikes on those neighborhoods.
This article may be updated.