The IDF strike on Beirut early on Saturday targeted Muhammad Haydar, Hezbollah's chief of operations, Sky News Arabic reported citing Israeli officials. Haydar, a former member of parliament, was a close advisor to slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, assassinated in an attack on the Dahieh, Hezbollah's stronghold in Beirut in September.
The IDF considered him chief of the terror group's military after a string of assassinations of top Hezbollah commanders. He has been leading the organization in recent months and sources tod the Saudi Arabia Al Hadath channel that he was the strategic – security brain behind Hezbollah's war with Israel.
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Aftermath of an Israeli strike on Beirut on Saturday, Muhammad Haydar
(Photo: Fadel Itani / AFP)
IDF strikes Beirut early on Saturday
According to reports in Lebanon, the military used bunker busting bombs in the strike that brought down an 8-storey building and created a crater. At least 11 people were killed and more wounded but Lebanese health officials said they expected the death toll to rise because teams were struggling to pull survivors from the rubble.
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The strike came without warning, as was the practice of the IDF, in the pre-dawn hours, while at the same time, Hezbollah fired 5 rockets at Haifa and its surrounding areas.
Later the military warned residents of the Dahieh to leave ahead of an Israeli strike.