By Anadolu staff
ISTANBUL (AA) — The Israeli army on Friday evening carried out a heavy and unprecedented airstrike on Beirut's southern suburb area, claiming to have attacked the main headquarters of Lebanese group Hezbollah.
According to an Anadolu correspondent on the ground, Israeli warplanes launched some 10 airstrikes on the area, which is a Hezbollah stronghold, with a large smoke plume rising over the area.
Shortly after the airstrikes, Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said the attack targeted Hezbollah's main headquarters, which he claimed was built underneath civilian buildings.
According to Israeli Channel 12, the Israeli army is checking whether Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was inside the targeted area.
No casualties have been reported following the Israeli airstrikes, with Hezbollah yet to comment on the attack.
Israel has pounded Lebanon since Monday morning, killing over 700 people and injuring nearly 2,200 others, according to figures released by the Lebanese Health Ministry.
The ministry also said that the death toll in Lebanon since last October is 1,540, in addition to more than 77,000 displaced from southern and eastern parts of the country.
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed more than 41,500 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.
The international community has warned against the strikes on Lebanon, as they raise the specter of turning the Gaza conflict into a regional war.
*Writing by Ahmed Asmar