Israeli bombing campaigns triggered massive explosions across Beirut, including a particularly destructive blast near the city’s international airport. This marks another chapter in the rapidly escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, a Shia militant group with deep-rooted power and influence in Lebanon. The target of the strikes was reportedly Hashem Safieddine, a senior Hezbollah leader and cousin of the group’s former head, Hassan Nasrallah.
The airport lies on the southern edge of Beirut, bordering the district of Dahieh, a known Hezbollah stronghold. Plumes of thick, black smoke were seen rising over the city in the early hours of Friday morning, with explosions rattling windows and shaking the ground throughout the capital. Despite the bombardment, it remains unclear whether Safieddine was killed or wounded in the attack.
The airstrike targeting Safieddine is viewed by analysts as part of Israel’s broader strategy to decapitate Hezbollah’s leadership, following the death of Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli strike last week. Safieddine has long been considered the frontrunner to succeed Nasrallah as the leader of Hezbollah, a position that places him at the heart of the ongoing confrontation with Israel. U.S. outlets, citing Israeli officials, confirmed that Safieddine was the intended target of the overnight strikes, though no confirmation has emerged regarding his fate.
The conflict has already taken a devastating toll on Lebanon. The country’s Public Health Ministry reported that 37 people were killed in ground and air attacks over the past 24 hours, with at least 151 others wounded. The humanitarian situation is rapidly deteriorating, with health services stretched to their limits and the number of displaced people growing by the hour.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese army, which has largely stayed out of direct involvement in the conflict, reported the deaths of two soldiers in southern Lebanon, as Israeli ground forces continue their offensive against Hezbollah. One soldier was killed in Taybeh village during an evacuation mission in collaboration with the Lebanese Red Cross. The second fatality occurred near the town of Bint Jbeil when an Israeli strike hit a Lebanese army post. This escalation marked the first direct involvement of Lebanese army forces in the conflict, a rare occurrence in past confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel.
The International Red Cross confirmed that four of its volunteers were lightly wounded during the attack in Taybeh, despite their movements being coordinated with UN peacekeepers in the region.
Israel’s ground invasion, now in its third full day, has brought further chaos to southern Lebanon. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued orders for the evacuation of 20 additional towns and villages in southern Lebanon, instructing civilians to leave their homes immediately for safety. This includes the regional capital of Nabatieh, a key town north of the Litani River, which until now had been considered beyond the immediate threat of Israeli strikes.
The Litani River, located approximately 30 km from the Israeli-Lebanese border, has long been a strategic boundary in the conflict. Before launching its invasion, Israel demanded that Hezbollah forces withdraw north of the river, citing UN Security Council resolutions stemming from their 2006 war. Hezbollah has so far refused to comply, further intensifying the current military confrontation.
Speaking from Beirut, Matthew Hollingworth, Lebanon Country Director for the World Food Programme, painted a grim picture of the humanitarian situation. “There is black smoke billowing over the southern suburbs and we see it each morning when we come to work and we see it all day long,” Hollingworth said. “The number of displaced people is skyrocketing, and there are cars everywhere from people who have fled the fighting in the south and the suburbs. The traffic is unrelenting, and many are now forced to sleep outside.”
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) echoed the warnings, with Lebanon Country Director Juan Gabriel Wells stating that nearly half of those displaced in government-run shelters were children under the age of 15. As the Israeli bombardment continues, the death toll climbs, and the country’s infrastructure is stretched to the breaking point, international organizations are scrambling to provide aid. However, with roads destroyed, constant air raids, and civilian infrastructure crumbling, access to many areas is limited.
Israel’s airstrikes on Thursday targeted what they described as critical Hezbollah military infrastructure, including weapons production facilities and storage sites. According to the Israeli military, more than 200 Hezbollah “terrorist targets” were hit across southern Lebanon and elsewhere overnight. In Bint Jbeil, a town near the Israeli border, an Israeli airstrike reportedly killed 15 Hezbollah fighters after hitting a municipality building used by the militant group. Israel has justified the strikes as part of its strategy to neutralize Hezbollah’s military capabilities.
In response, Hezbollah announced that it had repelled Israeli attempts to infiltrate border villages in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah fighters reportedly engaged in several skirmishes with Israeli forces throughout Thursday. The group claimed to have successfully thwarted multiple ground assaults and launched their own rocket attacks on Israeli military positions near the border.
Hezbollah’s rocket fire, which has been ongoing for weeks, intensified throughout Thursday. More than 230 projectiles were reportedly fired into Israeli territory. Although most were intercepted by Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system or fell in uninhabited areas, the barrage has continued to terrorize residents of northern Israel.
Israel, for its part, declared the region along its northern border a closed military zone. Civilians living near the border have been evacuated, and only military personnel remain in the area. One of the few civilians still living near the frontline is Dean Sweetland, a former British soldier who moved to Israel eight years ago. His home, located in a kibbutz close to the Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil, has been rocked by Hezbollah rocket fire in recent weeks.
Sweetland expressed the deep anxiety felt by many Israeli residents of the northern border communities. “We can’t continue this for another year,” he said. “Having Hezbollah sitting on our border, just waiting to do an October 7th on us,” he added, referring to last year’s Hamas attack on southern Israel that sparked the Gaza war.
As the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah escalates, the potential for a broader regional war grows. Analysts warn that Hezbollah’s involvement in the current crisis, paired with Israel’s increasingly aggressive stance, could lead to a full-scale conflict engulfing Lebanon, Syria, and other neighboring states.
Despite the severe casualties in Lebanon, Israel remains focused on dismantling Hezbollah’s military and political networks. Israel has been conducting operations across the region, targeting Hezbollah’s supply routes and weapon stockpiles in Lebanon and Syria. However, the strikes have also killed dozens of civilians, and Lebanon’s government has repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire.
Israeli officials, however, maintain that their actions are necessary to protect their citizens and prevent further cross-border attacks. “This is about ensuring our security,” an IDF spokesperson said, noting that Hezbollah’s missiles and drones have been an ever-present threat to northern Israel. “The situation on the northern border has been unsustainable for months, and the goal of these operations is to neutralize Hezbollah’s capacity to carry out attacks.”
Israel’s push into Lebanon marks the most significant escalation in tensions since the 2006 Lebanon War, which left more than 1,200 Lebanese dead and caused widespread destruction in the country. Hezbollah, meanwhile, remains defiant, insisting that its fighters will continue resisting Israeli aggression. “The resistance is strong,” Hezbollah declared in a statement on Thursday. “We will not stop until we have liberated our land.”
As Israeli airstrikes rain down on Beirut and the southern suburbs, the toll on Lebanon’s civilians is mounting. With hundreds dead, thousands wounded, and over a million displaced, the country is facing a humanitarian disaster of immense proportions. While Israel continues its campaign to dismantle Hezbollah’s military infrastructure, the conflict shows no signs of abating. In a region already beset by instability, the potential for a wider war looms large, with devastating consequences for both sides.
The international community, including the UN and humanitarian agencies, has called for immediate negotiations to bring about a ceasefire. But with Hezbollah refusing to back down and Israel determined to dismantle the group’s leadership and military capabilities, the path to peace remains fraught with obstacles. As the death toll climbs and the skies over Lebanon darken with smoke, the people of Beirut and beyond are left to endure the horrors of war, uncertain when—or if—relief will come.
