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Israel targeted the leader of Hezbollah in a massive airstrike against the militant group’s headquarters in Beirut on Friday, according to a U.S. official, two Israeli officials and two people familiar with the matter. The attack dramatically escalates the conflict in Lebanon and throws into doubt whether the Biden administration can clinch a cease-fire deal to head off a full-scale war.
It remains unclear whether the strike successfully killed or wounded Hassan Nasrallah, or if he was even in the building that was hit.
If Nasrallah were to be killed, it would mark one of the most significant Israeli blows against Hezbollah in decades; Nasrallah has led the Iran-backed militant group since 1992, after Israel assassinated its previous leader.
“Whether or not Israel was successful in killing Nasrallah today, this will no doubt be a marked escalation in the conflict that will put us beyond the threshold of an all-out war,” said Firas Maksad of the Middle East Institute. “It is especially ominous as Israeli ground forces prepare for an apparent invasion of south Lebanon.”
The National Security Council did not immediately respond to comment. In a statement, Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said his forces “carried out a precise strike on the Central Headquarters of the Hezbollah terror organization…taking the necessary action to protect our people so that Israeli families can live in their homes, safely and securely.”
The strike comes as top Biden administration officials struggled to get Israel and Hezbollah to agree to a pause in fighting in their efforts to avert a full-scale ground war in southern Lebanon that could have devastating humanitarian consequences coinciding with the war in Gaza. Escalating fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in recent days has killed nearly 700 people and forced 90,000 to flee their homes in Lebanon.
