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. 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.” Commenting on the strike, IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said, “Moments ago, the Israel Defense Forces carried out a precise strike on the Central Headquarters of the Hezbollah terror organization - that served as the epicenter of Hezbollah's terror." "Hezbollah's central headquarters was intentionally built under residential buildings in the heart of the Dahieh, in Beirut, as part of Hezbollah's strategy of using Lebanese people as human shields. On October 8th, Hezbollah started attacking Israel," he continued. "After almost a year of Hezbollah firing rockets, missiles, and suicide drones at Israeli civilians, after almost a year of Israel warning the world and telling them that Hezbollah must be stopped, Israel is doing what every sovereign state in the world would do if they had a terror organization that seeks their destruction on their border, taking the necessary action to protect our people so that Israeli families can live in their homes, safely and securely,” said Hagari. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the strike on the Hezbollah headquarters moments before his speech at the UN General Assembly. In light of the developments, the Prime Minister's Office said that "Prime Minister Netanyahu decided to move up his return to Israel, and will take off from the United States this evening." Netanyahu is scheduled to take off from New York on Friday evening at 8:00 p.m. local time (3:00 a.m. Israel time) and, upon his arrival in Israel, will hold situational assessments at the Kirya base in Tel Aviv. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant posted a photo from the IAF’s command and control center, where he was staying, together with the IDF Chief of the General Staff and senior IDF officials, at the time of the strike. “We will continue striking Hezbollah - in every place and any time necessary - until we can ensure the safe return of Israel’s northern communities to their homes,” said Gallant. Gallant at IAF command and control center Spokesperson Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said the US did not have advanced warning of the Israeli strike in Beirut and added that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke on the phone with Secretary of Defense Austin as the strike was ongoing. A White House official said that US President Joe Biden was briefed on the strikes in Beirut by his national security team. The Chief of the General Staff, LTG Herzi Halevi, concluded a situational assessment with the General Staff Forum following the strike on Hezbollah's Central Headquarters and emphasized the IDF's high readiness in both offense and defense across all arenas. The Iranian Embassy in Beirut responded to the Israeli strike and said, "The Israeli crime is a dangerous escalation that changes the rules of the game. The Israeli regime committed a massacre." (Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)
