Amid an intensifying conflict with Iran, Israel strikes the Beirut headquarters of Hezbollah Intelligence

As tensions with Iran increase, Israeli strikes target Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in Beirut, forcing 1.2 million Lebanese to flee their homes.

As part of continuous military operations in Lebanon, Israel targeted Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in Beirut, which is supported by Iran.

Iran’s Supreme Leader has brushed off Israel’s strikes on senior Hezbollah figures as useless, while Israel said on Friday that it was evaluating the damage.

The increase comes after earlier this week’s ballistic missile launch by Iran in retaliation for Israeli military operations in Lebanon. The speculation that Israel would expand its strikes to Iran’s oil facilities has caused oil prices to soar, escalating tensions even further.

Over 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced as a result of an Israeli campaign that includes the attack in Beirut. The probable successor to Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who was slain by Israeli forces a week ago, is said to have been the target of the strikes, Hashem Safieddine. It is still unknown what will happen to Safieddine, and neither Israel nor Hezbollah have made any statements about it.

Israel alerted locals about the possibility of explosions in the southern suburbs of Beirut, including Burj al-Barajneh, Choueifat, and Haret Hreik.

near a statement released on Saturday, Hezbollah further asserted that fighting was still going on near the village of Odaisseh in southern Lebanon, where there were purported attempts by Israeli forces to penetrate.

Speaking out about the events, US President Joe Biden said that Israel might be thinking of options other than attacking Iranian oil fields. Biden made it clear that, in his opinion, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not acting to sway the outcome of the next presidential election in the United States, which will pit Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris against Republican nominee Donald Trump. “I have helped Israel more than any administration has,” said Biden.

According to the Lebanese authorities, over 2,000 people have died in the last year, the majority of them in the previous two weeks, and they have denounced Israel’s strikes. “Totally unacceptable,” according to U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric, is the civilian casualty rate. Israel insists that it exclusively targets military capabilities and charges Hezbollah and Hamas of using civilians as shields. Lebanon has accused Israel of targeting civilians, especially women and children.

Kamel Ahmad Jawad, an American citizen from Dearborn, Michigan, was killed this week in an Israeli airstrike, according to confirmation from the U.S. State Department. Spokesman for the State Department Matthew Miller voiced concern and reaffirmed that Israel must take “all feasible precautions” to reduce the number of civilian casualties.

The most recent round of violence is a direct result of the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, which left 1,200 people dead and 250 hostages. According to Gaza’s health ministry, Israel’s retaliatory bombings on the Gaza Strip have killed approximately 41,000 Palestinians. They have also caused massive displacement, food shortages, and accusations of genocide, which Israel disputes.

Hezbollah and Israel’s tensions are still rising in the meantime. About 70 rockets were fired into Israeli territory on Friday night from Lebanon; however, many of them were intercepted or fell into open spaces. The goal of Israel’s “localized” ground operations in Lebanon is to facilitate the return of residents who were forced to flee their homes due to Hezbollah’s bombing of the northern area. Both the extent and the duration of these operations are still unknown.