Israeli launched a massive strike on what it said was Iran-allied Hezbollah's central headquarters in a Beirut suburb, with Israeli TV saying leader Hassan Nasrallah was the intended target, shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned at the UN that actions against the designated terrorist organization would not stop.
Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, Israel’s army spokesman, on September 27 said the country’s forces had targeted Hezbollah's main headquarters located under residential buildings.
"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 said.
WATCH: Amateur video caught a huge blast in a suburb of Beirut as Israel said it had launched a strike targeting the headquarters of Hezbollah. Israeli TV said Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was the intended target.
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Israeli Strike Targets Hezbollah Leader In Beirut
The Israeli military later said it had launched further widespread attacks on Hezbollah sites following the earlier strikes on the headquarters as it continued to "degrade and dismantle" the group's capabilities.
Shortly after midnight, the Israeli military said it had launched fresh strikes on three additional buildings in south Beirut, claiming that Hezbollah had stored weapons at the sites, after urging residents to evacuate them. It also reported strikes in the ancient city of Tyre early on September 28.
Israel also said its warplanes were patrolling near the Beirut Airport and insisted it would not allow Iran to transfer weapons to Hezbollah through the facility.
Speculation was rife on Nasrallah's whereabouts and condition following the attack, although no official information was immediately available.
The Israeli military did not confirm that Nasrallah was the target of the attack.
A senior Israeli official told Reuters that it "was too early" to tell whether Nasrallah had been hit in the strike.
The official said it was "hoped" Israel would not have to conduct a ground operation in Lebanon but that it would not rule it out.
Led by Nasrallah, Hezbollah has developed close ties with other Iranian proxies and Tehran-backed armed groups, helping to train and arm their fighters.
Hezbollah-run Al-Manar TV reported at least four buildings were destroyed in the strikes, that there were heavy casualties, and that ambulances were headed to the site. The Lebanese Health Ministry said six people were killed and more than 90 were injured.
Video posted online indicated large areas of devastation.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah addresses a crowd in a southern suburb of Beirut on October 24, 2015.
Shahan Kandaharian, editor-in-chief of the Armenian-language Azdak daily in Beirut, reported hearing strong explosions.
"We learned that it was an air strike at Hezbollah's headquarters located in Beirut's southern suburb," he told RFE/RL's Armenian Service.
“The whole city was shaking. I was at the office and we could clearly hear the explosions. I heard 10 explosions, one following another," he added, adding it "was a very heavy strike."
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said the United States did not have advance warning of the Israeli strike.
"The United States was not involved in this operation and we had no advanced warning," Singh told reporters.
Earlier, Netanyahu gave arch foe Iran a stark warning during his address to the United Nations General Assembly, saying there is "no place in Iran" that Israel can't reach if the Islamic republic continues to try and strike Israel.
He also said that “we’ll continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met."
As the Israeli prime minister began his speech, several delegations -- including Iran's -- walked out of the UNGA in protest while many who remained in the hall cheered or yelled angrily.
SEE ALSO: What Is Hezbollah, The Iran-Backed Group Fighting Israel?
Netanyahu was preceded by speakers from Slovenia and Pakistan, both of whom called for him to stop the war in the Gaza Strip against Hamas, which has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
He said he didn't plan on giving a speech at the meeting this year but after hearing the "lies and slander leveled at my country by many of the speakers at this podium, I decided to come here and set the record straight."
Netanyahu then quickly turned his focus to Iran, which he blamed for "organizing" the current outbreak of violence in the Middle East.
"I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran: If you strike us, we will strike you," Netanyahu told the UN General Assembly.
"There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach, and that's true of the entire Middle East."
Netanyahu said the UN Security Council should reimpose sanctions on Tehran to ensure it doesn't get nuclear weapons, adding Israel will do "everything in its power" to prevent such a scenario.
"We're defending ourselves, but we're also defending you against a common enemy that through violence and terror seeks to destroy our way of life," he said in reference to Iran.
Netenyahu's speech came amid a diplomatic push by the United States, France, and other Western allies for a 21-day cease-fire after fighting across the Lebanon-Israel border intensified this week with Israel bombarding what it says are targets of Iran-backed Hezbollah, a militant group and political party that controls much of southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah, which Israel says has launched thousands of rockets at its territory over the past year, is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, while the European Union blacklists its armed wing but not its political party. Hezbollah’s political party has seats in the Lebanese parliament.
The intensified fighting has killed hundreds, according to Lebanese health officials, with aid agencies and governments on both sides saying tens of thousands more have been displaced.
Amid fears the conflict will spread across the entire Middle East, Washington has warned any further escalation would only make it harder for civilians on both sides to return home.
The White House has said the cease-fire proposal had been "coordinated" with Israel, but Netanyahu's office has said the prime minister has not responded to the proposal.
The war in Gaza broke out after Hamas fighters spilled across the border last October and killed some 1,200 people inside Israeli territory. Some 240 more people were taken back into the Gaza Strip as hostages.
Israel has launched a withering offensive against Hamas in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre.
In his speech to the UNGA, Netanyahu vowed "Hamas has got to go" and would have no role in the reconstruction of Gaza as he vowed to fight until "total victory."