Israeli troops attacked Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut on Friday a series of powerful explosions that targeted militant group leaders and razed multiple multi-story apartment buildings in the largest blasts to hit the Lebanese capital last year. Lebanon’s health ministry said at least six people were killed and 91 injured.

Hezbollah Senior commanders were targeted in attacks on the group’s headquarters, according to a senior Israeli official who told reporters on Friday it was too early to confirm whether the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, had been killed. The Israeli army declined to comment. It was not immediately clear whether Nasrallah was at the scene, and Hezbollah did not comment on the report.

The death toll from the strikes is likely to rise significantly as teams continue to comb through the rubble of six buildings.

A senior Israeli official said the military was trying to minimize civilian losses by striking during the day when many people would not do so. be at home. He added that Israel is not seeking a broader regional war, but said that Hezbollah’s military capabilities have been significantly degraded by the recent series of Israeli military operations and that the Beirut strike, if successful, would leave Hezbollah with a significant leadership gap.

In another possible sign of the strikes’ importance, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly interrupted a visit to the United States and instead of waiting until the end of the Sabbath on Saturday evening, he returned home, his office said. Israeli politicians usually do not travel on Shabbat, except for matters of great importance.

Hours earlier, Netanyahu had spoken before the United Nations, swearing that it was Israel campaign against Hezbollah will continue, further weakening hopes for an internationally supported ceasefire. Before he delivered his speech, several delegates stood up and left.

To an extent not seen in previous conflicts, Israel last week sought to eliminate Hezbollah’s senior leadership. Israeli army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the attacks targeted Hezbollah’s headquarters, located beneath residential buildings. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s office said he met with the head of the Israeli Air Force and other top commanders at military headquarters following the update.

In a videotaped statement released later, Hagari said Israeli forces were “preparing to launch attacks on strategic assets that Hezbollah has hidden underground under three buildings in the heart of Dahieh, Beirut.” He identified buildings where Israel believes Hezbollah stores rockets and said residents had been contacted and warned to evacuate immediately.

An earlier series of gigantic explosions that occurred around dusk reduced six buildings in the Haret Hreik district of Beirut’s Dahiyeh suburb to rubble, according to Lebanon’s national news agency. The shock wave shook windows and houses about 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of Beirut. Television footage showed several craters – in one, a car overturned – amid collapsed buildings in the densely populated, mostly Shiite neighborhood.

Hours later, rescuers were still searching through the rubble while others fought to extinguish the fires. The health ministry said it was not immediately clear the full extent of the casualties, adding that 15 of the 76 injured were hospitalized. Many people living in the area were seen gathering their belongings and fleeing the main road leading out of the district.

Nasrallah had been in hiding for years and rarely appeared in public. He gives speeches regularly – but always in video form from unknown locations. The location hit Friday evening was not publicly known as Hezbollah’s headquarters, although it is located in the group’s “security quarters,” a heavily guarded part of Haret Hreik that houses its offices and several nearby hospitals.

The Pentagon said the United States received no advance warning of the attacks.

The White House said President Biden was briefed “several times” by his national security team on Friday and “directed the Pentagon to evaluate and adjust, as necessary, the deployment of U.S. forces in the region to enhance deterrence, ensure force protection, and support the full range” of U.S. targets, he also instructed his team to ensure that U.S. embassies in the region take all appropriate protective measures.”

“The events of the last week and the last few hours underscore what an uncertain moment this is for the Middle East and for the world,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a news conference in New York on Friday. “Israel has the right to defend itself against terrorism. How he does it matters. The choices that all parties will make in the coming days will determine the path this region takes, with serious consequences for its people now and perhaps in the years to come.”

Israel dramatically intensified airstrikes on Lebanon this week, stating that it is determined to end more than 11 months of Hezbollah shelling on its territory. The scope of Israel’s operation remains unclear, but officials say a ground invasion to push the militant group away from the border is possible. In preparation, Israel moved thousands of troops towards the border.

According to Health Ministry statistics, Israeli attacks this week have killed more than 720 people in Lebanon, including dozens of women and children.

A house was struck before dawn on Friday in the mostly Sunni border town of Chebaa, killing nine members of the same family, the state news agency reported. A resident identified the dead as Hussein Zahra, his wife Ratiba, their five children and two grandchildren.

At the UN, Netanyahu promised to “continue the degradation of Hezbollah” until Israel achieves its goals. His comments dampened hopes for a U.S.-backed call for a 21-day truce between Israel and Hezbollah to allow time for a diplomatic solution. Hezbollah did not respond to this proposal.

Iran-backed Hezbollah, Lebanon’s strongest military force, began firing rockets at Israel almost immediately after the Hamas attack on October 7, claiming it was a show of support for the Palestinians. Since then, she and the Israeli military have exchanged fire almost daily, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes on both sides of the border.

An Israeli security official said he expected a possible war against Hezbollah would not last as long as the current war in Gaza because the Israeli military’s goals are much narrower.

In GazaIsrael intends to dismantle the Hamas military and political regime, but the goal in Lebanon is to push Hezbollah away from the border with Israel – “not as high a bar as Gaza” in terms of operational goals, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of military clearance guidelines .

The Israeli military said it carried out dozens of attacks in the south of the country on Friday, targeting Hezbollah rocket launchers and infrastructure. Hezbollah is said to have fired a volley of rockets towards Tiberias in northern Israel.

In Tyre, southern Lebanon, civil defense workers pulled the bodies of two women – 35-year-old Hiba Ataya and her mother Sabah Olyan – from the rubble of a building demolished by the strike.

“It’s Sabah, those are her clothes, honey,” one of the men called out as her body emerged.

Israel says its accelerated attacks this week have already caused serious damage to the weapons capabilities of Hezbollah and its fighters. But the group boasted a large arsenal of rockets and missiles, and its other capabilities remain unknown.

Hezbollah representatives and their supporters remain defiant. Shortly before Friday evening’s explosions, thousands of people gathered in another part of Beirut’s suburbs for the funeral of three Hezbollah members killed in earlier strikes, including the head of the group’s drone unit, Mohammed Surour.

Men and women in the gigantic crowd waved their fists in the air and chanted, “We will never accept humiliation,” as they marched behind three coffins draped in the group’s yellow flag.

Hussein Fadlallah, Hezbollah’s top official in Beirut, said in a speech that no matter how many commanders Israel kills, the group has an infinite number of experienced fighters deployed across the front line. Fadlallah vowed that Hezbollah would fight until Israel ended its offensive in Gaza.

“We will not abandon support for Palestine, Jerusalem and oppressed Gaza,” Fadlallah said. “There is no room for neutrality in this battle.”

contributed to this report.