Middle East updates: IDF says Hezbollah HQ in Beirut hit

At least two people were killed in Israeli strikes on a southern neighborhood of Lebanon's capital, Beirut, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.

The ministry said that 76 people were wounded. It described the tally as provisional, as rescue efforts continued.

Lebanese media had previously reported that four buildings were destroyed in the strikes.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari alleged that the central headquarters of the Hezbollah militant group had been "intentionally" positioned beneath "residential buildings."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said that he would cut short his trip to New York following an Israeli strike on southern Beirut, Lebanon.

He is scheduled to return to Israel later on Friday.

Netanyahu had spoken at the United Nations' General Assembly and vowed that Israel would continue fighting Hezbollah militants amid international calls for a cease-fire.

"Israel has been tolerating this intolerable situation for nearly a year. Well, I've come here today to say enough is enough," he said during his speech in the General Assembly.

Three Israeli television networks reported that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was the target of an Israeli airstrike on the Dahiyeh neighborhood in southern Beirut.

The Channel 12 broadcaster reported that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) were "checking whether [Nasrallah] was in the building in the heart of Dahiyeh."

Israeli public broadcaster Kan 11 and the Haaretz daily also reported that Nasrallah was the target.

AFP news agency cited an unnamed source close to Hezbollah as saying that Nasrallah was not harmed in the strike.

"Sayyed Nasrallah is fine," the source was cited by AFP as saying.

Iran's Tasnim agency also reported that Nasrallah was safe following the strike.

Reuters news agency cited an Iranian official as saying that Tehran was checking Nasrallah's status.

The reports on Nasrallah being the target and his condition following the strike were unconfirmed.

Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) had carried out a "precise" strike targeting Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.

"The IDF carried out a precise strike on the central headquarters of the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Dahiyeh," Hagari said in a televised statement.

He claimed that the facility "served as the epicenter of Hezbollah's terror."

Hagari said Hezbollah had positioned its base to be "located under residential buildings in the heart of Dahiyeh in Beirut."

"We will continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met," he said.

Lebanese media reported at least four buildings were destroyed in the explosion. 

Hezbollah is classified as a terrorist organization by Israel, the US, Germany and several other states. The European Union designates its military wing as a terror group.

The group de facto controls predominantly Shiite areas of Lebanon's south and east and its political wing is one of the parties in Lebanon's governing coalition.

Southern Beirut's Dahiyeh neighborhood is predominantly Shiite and is seen as a Hezbollah stronghold.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that they attacked the headquarters of the Hezbollah militant group in Beirut.

In an online statement, the IDF said Hezbollah's headquarters were located under residential buildings in the Dahiyeh neighborhood of Lebanon's capital, Beirut.

Dahiyeh is a predominantly Shiite neighborhood in the south of the city.

Thick clouds of smoke were seen rising in Beirut on Friday after multiple explosions.

A series of Israeli strikes hit the south of the Lebanese capital, according to state media.

Israel's military had said shortly beforehand that it was striking targets in "southern Lebanon," but it had made no mention of Beirut.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "Hamas has got to go" and would have no role in the reconstruction of Gaza. He vowed to keep on fighting until "total victory" is achieved.

In his address to those gathered at the United Nations General Assembly, Netanyahu, brandishing visual aids to accompany his speech, defended his nation's response to the October 7 attacks of last year by Hamas killed some 1,200 people, saw about 240 more taken hostage and triggered an Israeli military operation in Gaza.

"This war can come to an end now," Netanyahu said. "All that has to happen is for Hamas to surrender, lay down its arms and release all the hostages."

Israel's campaign has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians and wounded over 96,000 others, according to the latest figures released by the Health Ministry. The ministry, part of Gaza's Hamas government, doesn't differentiate between civilians and combatants.

Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by the US, Germany, the EU and others, and has ruled Gaza since 2007.

As Netanyahu took the stage, there was enough disquiet among those in attendance that the presiding diplomat had to shout: "Order, please."

The two speakers who preceded Netanyahu in New York each made a point of calling out Israel. "Mr. Netanyahu, stop this war now," Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob said in his closing remarks.

And Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, speaking immediately before the Israeli leader, declared of the fighting in Gaza: "This is not just a conflict. This is systematic slaughter of innocent people of Palestine."

Israeli operations against Hezbollah will continue until residents of northern Israel near the border can return to their homes, Netanyahu said in New York.

"As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice, and Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their home safe," Netanyahu told the UN General Assembly, saying that military operations against the militant group would "continue until we meet our objectives."

"Just imagine if terrorists turned El Paso and San Diego into ghost towns," Netanyahu continued. "How long would the American government tolerate that? Yet Israel has been tolerating this intolerable situation for almost a year. Well, I've come here today to say: Enough is enough."

Netanyahu's comments follow an international appeal for a 21-day cease-fire proposed earlier this week by France and the United States and supported by several other countries, including Germany.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu started his speech at the UN General Assembly by pledging to counter "slander" against Israel at the international organization.

Israel and several UN organizations have locked horns and criticized each other in recent months amid the fighting in Gaza, in particular. 

"We are winning," Netanyahu said regarding the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. "My country is at war, fighting for its life. We must defend ourselves against these savage murderers. Our enemies seek not only to destroy us, they seek to destroy our common civilization and return all of us to a dark age of tyranny and terror."

Netanyahu said the threat of Iran had prompted Israel's actions.

"Iran seeks to impose its radicalism well beyond the Middle East," he said.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR said "significantly more" than 30,000 people have fled from Lebanon to Syria since the beginning of the heavy Israeli strikes.

"Both Syrians and Lebanese are crossing from a country at war to one that has faced crisis and conflict for 13 years. We cannot imagine what an incredibly difficult choice that is, Over 30,000 have made that choice," said Gonzalo Vargas Llosa, the UNHCR's representative in Syria.

He added that around 80% of them were Syrian citizens, while the rest were predominantly Lebanese.

Well over a million Syrians fled to Lebanon during the Syrian civil war that erupted in 2011.

At least 118,000 people have also been internally displaced in Lebanon since fighting intensified in the last week, said Imran Riza, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Beirut.

Hezbollah said it had fired rockets into Israel on Friday at Kiryat Ata near the city of Haifa, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and the city of Tiberias, saying the attacks were a response to Israeli strikes.

The Israeli military said some of the missiles had been intercepted, and others had landed in open areas. 

It also intercepted four unmanned aircraft that crossed from Lebanese territory into the maritime space off the coast of Rosh Hanikra at the Lebanese border.

The fighting between Israeli forces and Hezbollah is their worst in more than 18 years and part of the regional spillover of the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

A family of nine was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese border town of Shebaa, Mayor Mohammad Saab told the Reuters news agency.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported the strike happened at around 3 a.m. but published no further details. 

The Israeli military did not immediately claim responsibility for the strike.

According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, nearly 700 people have been killed in Lebanon this week as Israel dramatically escalated strikes against Hezbollah.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said Israeli officials and their US counterparts met on Thursday to discuss a cease-fire proposal.

Netanyahu's office said officials would continue talks in the coming days despite his apparent rejection of the US-led proposal. 

On Wednesday, the US and European countries, including France and Germany, called for a 21-day cease-fire to allow for negotiations in the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. 

But Netanyahu seemingly rejected that on Thusday, saying Israel's "policy is clear."

"We are continuing to strike Hezbollah with full force. And we will not stop until we reach all our goals, chief among them the return of the residents of the north securely to their homes," he said.

Despite this, his office later said Israel appreciated the US efforts.

"Our teams met [on Thursday, September 26] to discuss the US initiative and how we can advance the shared goal of returning people safely to their homes. We will continue those discussions in the coming days." 

Lebanon's Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib has called for an immediate cease-fire and has warned that the crisis in Lebanon is a threat to the entire region.

"The crisis in Lebanon threatens the entire Middle East," Bouhabib said. "We wish today to reiterate our call for a cease-fire on all fronts."

Bouhabib welcomed efforts by the United States and France to move urgently toward a cease-fire before the situation spiraled out of control.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called on Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah  militant group to agree to a 21-day cease-fire in her address before the United Nations General Assembly.

She warned of the harm an escalation would have to peace and security.

"A broader regional escalation would not bring anyone long-lasting security," Baerbock said.

Germany's top diplomat also said that the lack of progress was sometimes frustrating and painful: "We are not giving up on seeking a political vision for Israelis and Palestinians to be able to live peacefully side by side."

"For me, resignation is simply not an option, because that would mean that the playbook of terrorism and extremism carries the day," Baerbock said.

Wednesday saw a group of states — Western nations such as the US, France and Germany, together with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar — call for a three-week cease-fire.

A halt in fighting is intended to create space to explore diplomatic solutions. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said a truce was not imminent and that it would continue with attacks in Lebanon.

kb/rc (dpa, AP, Reutes, AFP)