Reuters reported that consecutive fierce Israeli airstrikes attacked the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut (Lebanon) from late on October 5 to the morning of October 6. explosions could be heard across the city and red fire could be seen for nearly 30 minutes from a few kilometers away.
The airstrikes came after days of Israeli bombing of Beirut's suburbs - considered a stronghold of the Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah, killing leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and possibly his potential successor.
On October 5, a Lebanese security source said that Hashem Safieddine, a potential successor to Hezbollah, had been out of contact since October 4, after an Israeli airstrike near Beirut International Airport was believed to have targeted him.
The Israeli military previously announced that it had killed Nasrallah in an airstrike on the group's central command headquarters in Beirut on September 27. Hezbollah also confirmed Nasrallah's death.
So far, Hezbollah has not commented on Safieddine.
The loss of Safieddine would be another blow to the group and its protectionist country, Iran. Israeli airstrikes across the region over the past year, which have accelerated in recent weeks, have killed Hezbollah's leadership.
Israel continues to expand its attacks in Lebanon. A Lebanese security official said Israel had carried out its first airstrike in the northern city of Tripoli and the Israeli military had conducted raids in the south.
At least eight airstrikes rocked Beirut's southern suburbs late on October 5, including near the airport, after the Israeli military warned some residents to evacuate, Reuters witnesses said.
Before the recent outbreak, fighting between Israel and Hezbollah was largely limited to the Israel-Lebanon border, in parallel with Israel's year-long war in Gaza against Hamas in Palestine.
Israeli military spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said on October 5 that Israel had killed 440 Hezbollah fighters during ground operations in southern Lebanon and destroyed 2,000 Hezbollah targets. Hezbollah has not released the number of dead.
Israel explained that the increased attacks on Hezbollah are to ensure the safe return of tens of thousands of citizens to their homes in northern Israel, where Hezbollah has been bombing since October 8 last year.
According to the Israeli government, nine Israeli soldiers have been killed in southern Lebanon as of October 5, 2024.
