The IDF on Friday evening conducted a precise strike on the Central Headquarters of the Hezbollah terror organization, embedded under residential buildings in the heart of the Dahieh in Beirut, the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit said.
“At this time there is no change to the IDF Defensive Guidelines. If any changes will be made, an update will be released on the IDF and Home Front Command's official platforms,” it added.
According to reports in Lebanon, top Hezbollah officials were in the headquarters at the time of the strike, and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was among the targets of the strike.
Nasrallah's exact fate is unknown at this time, and no official announcement has been made by Hezbollah, but a senior official in the terror group told Reuters that the Hezbollah leader is alive.
A senior US official told ABC News that Israel targeted Nasrallah in the strike, adding that Nasrallah and some of his lieutenants were in Beirut making a quick visit when the strike took place.
An Israeli official said that there are indications that Nasrallah was in the headquarters at the time of the strike, but there is no official confirmation as to whether he was harmed.
Security sources in Lebanon told Sky News’ Arabic-language service that the delay in Hezbollah's announcement on Nasrallah's fate raises the likelihood that he was eliminated.
Ali Larijani, a senior advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, in an interview on local television, did not directly comment on Nasrallah’s fate, but said, "There is a replacement for every leader of the resistance who is killed."
Later on Friday night, a source close to Hezbollah told Reuters that Hezbollah's senior leadership was unreachable following Israel's strikes on Beirut.
Some reports said that Hashem Safieddine, Nasrallah’s cousin and the head of Hezbollah's Executive Council, was injured or eliminated in the strike, but a source in the terrorist organization told Reuters that Safieddine is alive.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health said at least two people were killed and 76 were injured in the Israeli strike, but that is a preliminary assessment and the numbers are expected to rise.
A senior defense official told Galei Tzahal (IDF Radio), “Whoever was in the Hezbollah headquarters at the time of the strikes - did not come out alive.” WATCH