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THIS is the moment Israel launches an enormous strike on Beirut as they try to kill Hezbollah's leader.

Footage shows a series of huge explosions in Beirut with large mushroom clouds erupting into the sky as the IDF targeted the terror group's HQ.

A blast lights up the night in a suburb of Beirut last night
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A blast lights up the night in a suburb of Beirut last nightCredit: AP
Israel launched a series of massive strikes against Hezbollah
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Israel launched a series of massive strikes against HezbollahCredit: AP
Israel was trying to kill Hezbollah's leader with the strikes
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Israel was trying to kill Hezbollah's leader with the strikes
Reports say Nasrallah remains alive
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Reports say Nasrallah remains aliveCredit: X @thisislebnews
Israel's strikes turned the building to rubble
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Israel's strikes turned the building to rubbleCredit: AFP
a man in a suit sits at a desk talking on a cell phone
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Netanyahu approved the strike while in New YorkCredit: Prime Minister's Office
a poster showing the chain of command of the idf
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The enormous air blitz levelled six buildings above the 64-year-old terror group chief’s underground command post in the Dahiya suburb of Lebanese capital, Beirut.

Israel quickly announced the strikes targeted Hezbollah's command following the massive attack.

Some reports claim Hassan Nasrallah remains alive, with sources saying he was inside the bunker at the time of the strike.

No official statement has yet been released by Hezbollah about the bearded firebrand leader.

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The strikes continued into the night, with images showing blasts lighting up the sky as buildings shook across the Lebanese capital.

Lebanon's health ministry says six are dead and 91 people have been injured, but those numbers are expected to rise sharply.

IDF Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the HQ was "intentionally built under residential buildings... as part of Hezbollah's strategy of using Lebanese people as human shields".

Hagari said: "Moments ago, the Israel Defense 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."

Hagari spoke to media late Friday night and said Israel was checking to see see if the strike had killed Nasrallah.

A second round of Israeli strikes hit the same area of Beirut late Friday night.

Search and rescue workers are now looking for survivors in the rubble with other buildings also damaged.

Watch as another Hezbollah chief is eliminated in blitz as Israel vows 'all of Lebanon' in crosshairs & truce hopes fade

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, is now holding an emergency meeting of the Supreme National Security Council in response to the strike.

Hezbollah has already retaliated, firing rockets on the Israeli city of Safed - but there are no reports of casualties.

Narallah's backers in Iran's embassy in Beirut said the latest massive strike on the Lebanese capital were a "dangerous, game-changing escalation".

The embassy added the strike was a “war crime" which merits "appropriate punishment".

a man with a beard is giving a speech in arabic
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Nasrallah spoke following Israel's sabotage strikes last weekCredit: AFP
a map of border blitz shows where israeli forces attacked 300 hezbollah targets
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Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati had earlier said Israel's attacks show it "does not care" about efforts to bring about a ceasefire.

The strike comes after days of Israeli bombardment inside Lebanon as it seems poised to invade the country.

Israel has wiped out a number of top Hezbollah commanders in airstrikes, but Nasrallah remained outside of Israel's grasp.

Over the past 11 months, Israel has eliminated nearly all of the terror group's leadership, with Nasrallah reportedly hidden in a 50ft deep bunker.

Just yesterday the terror group's air force chief was killed in a blast.

Last Friday, Hezbollah was in chaos after losing two kingpins and 14 commanders in an IDF strike.

Destruction of Hezbollah's HQ comes a day after a ceasefire plan appeared to fall through.

Western nations called for a 21-day ceasefire to end the 11-month conflict between Israel and the terror group to its north.

A statement said: "The situation between Lebanon and Israel since October 8th, 2023 is intolerable and presents an unacceptable risk of a broader regional escalation.

"This is in nobody's interest, neither of the people of Israel nor of the people of Lebanon.

a large cloud of smoke is coming out of a building
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Smoke rises over Beirut following the strikesCredit: AP
a man stands in front of a yellow excavator that says volvo on it
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Lebanese civil defence teams conducted search and rescue operations tonightCredit: Getty

"It is time to conclude a diplomatic settlement that enables civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes in safety.

"Diplomacy however cannot succeed amid an escalation of this conflict."

The ceasefire plan also called for a end to fighting between Israel and Hamas.

But Israel on Thursday rejected the ceasefire plan.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now returning to the country after speaking to the UN General Assembly today.

The leader held up a map of Iran and its proxies in the Middle East with the title 'The Curse'.

Israel has pummelled areas of southern Lebanon used by Hezbollah with airstrikes over the last few days - including civilian homes.

Israeli warjets had earlier hammered more than 220 targets across Lebanon and also killed five Syrian soldiers manning a military post on the Lebanese border.

Thousands of Brits remain in the country and the military is on standby to evacuate them if Israel does invade.

Israel has shifted its military focus north after fighting in Gaza as it seeks to create a "death zone" in southern Lebanon.

Around 80,000 Israelis have fled northern Israel after regularly being bombarded by Hezbollah's rockets following the October 7 terror attack.

Nasrallah led Iran-backed Hezbollah during the last war with Israel in 2006 and has been a thorn in his enemies side ever since.

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He oversaw a massive Iran-backed programme of rebuilding the group’s military machine to become the most heavily armed terror group on earth.

His assassination attempt comes days after he pledged to carry on fighting Israel with his group's 150,000 missiles and drones and tens of thousands of battle hardened troops

a group of people standing in front of a building with smoke coming out of it
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People and rescuers stand amid the rubble of the buildingCredit: AFP
a large smoke stack is visible in the distance over a city
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Israel has hammered Lebanon with airstrikes over the past few daysCredit: Getty
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