Israel Matzav

IAF targeting Nasrallah, other top Hezbullah figures

HaAretz is reporting that the IAF targeted Hezbullah chieftain Hassan Nasrallah and other top Hezbullah figures who are believed to be hiding in a bunker in Beirut tonight. IDF officials said that the Air Force dropped 23 tons of explosives on the bunker which is in the Bourj al-Barajneh section of southern Beirut.

Update 1:34 AM

This is from YNet:

IDF officials told Ynet that dozens of Air Force fighter jets participated in the massive air strike on a south Beirut target, acting on IDF intelligence.

Intelligence stating that Nasrallah was staying in the bunker was received Wednesday night, and numerous IDF jets were dispatched to the place shortly after. Following a brief discussion, IDF officials decided that the information was sufficiently credible to act upon and launch a massive bombardment on the area.

The al-Manar television channel reported that the planes blasted a building that was under construction in the Bourj al-Barajneh quarter where a Palestinian refugee camp is located. The network stated that the structure was located outside of Hizbullah's stronghold in town.

...

According to army officials, the building itself was completely destroyed and the IDF was checking the results of the strike –whether the senior Hizbullah officials Israel was targeting were actually at the scene. They stated that if the bunker is located tens of meters underground, there is a chance that whoever was staying there survived the attack. Additionally, a senior IDF officer said that Israeli intelligence had significantly infiltrated Hizbullah.

According to al-Manar, IDF jets fired seven missiles at the building, followed by loud explosions. The report said that IAF drones were circling over the area previous the attack and while it was carried out, in a bid to collect intelligence. No injuries were reported in the strike, although such a possibility exists. Women and children have already been evacuated from the area, and most of the quarter's inhabitants are currently men.

Hizbullah has a headquarters compound in Bourj al-Barajneh that is off limits to the Lebanese police and army, so security officials could not confirm the strike. Hizbullah media made no immediate mention of any attack. Israel has said that one of the objects of its offensive in Lebanon is to eliminate Hizbullah leaders.

The military said the attack occurred between 8 and 9 p.m. Reporters in Beirut said they heard a huge explosion around 8:30 p.m.

We probably won't know whether they got him until the morning.

Update 1:43 AM

This is from the JPost:

IAF fighter jets dropped over 20 tons in bombs late Wednesday night on a Hizbullah bunker, possibly the hiding place of the group's leader Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, in the Burj al-Arjana refugee camp in southeast Beirut. It was still unclear who was in the bunker at the time and what their fate was, but IDF sources said the bunker was totally destroyed and that all that was left was a crater.

The IDF obtained intelligence information late Wednesday night that Hizbullah leaders possibly including Nasrallah had taken refuge inside the bunker. A wave of aircraft immediately took to the air and dropped 23 tons of explosives on the bunker.

IDF sources would not confirm that Nasrallah was in the bunker at the time, but said that high-ranking Hizbullah leaders were inside, and that it appeared that the attack was successful.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:27 AM