Destruction in the wake of the IDF strike on the Dahieh on Thursday
Air Force fighter jets dropped some 73 tons of bombs on the Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut, the Dahieh, overnight in the strike targeting the presumptive new leader-to-be of the terror group Hashem Safieddine.
According to a report in the New York Times, a high-level meeting of senior members of Hezbollah had been taking place in an underground bunker there when the strike occurred. Officials in Israel believe Hashem Safieddine, designated to replace slain Hassan Nasrallah, may have been in the bunker that was attacked although his fate early on Saturday, remains unknown.
Military officials said the targeted attacks on Hezbollah leaders, disrupt the terror group's ability to re-arm and command its troops to action.
The strike that began close to midnight on Thursday was described as powerful and came soon after IDF's Arabic Language spokesperson Major Avichay Adaree, warned residents of the area to quickly evacuate to safety if they were near Hezbollah infrastructure or assets.
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IDF strikes a Hezbollah bunker in the Dahieh quarter of Beirut late on Thursday
(Photo: Amr Abdallah Dalsh / Reuters)
A source close to Hezbollah said the IDF strike formed a ring of fire around the targeted area and at least 11 waves of bombings took place, one after the other. More strikes on the Dahieh were reported in the later overnight hours.
Rescue operations continued throughout the morning.
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