Massive air strike targets Hezbollah HQ and leader

HUGE explosions rocked Beirut last night just hours after Benjamin Netanyahu declared Israel will fight "until we achieve total victory".

- Helen Barnett

In his key address to the UN yesterday, the Israeli Prime Minister warned there was no place in Iran the "long arm" of Israel could not reach, as he threatened to advance his Middle East war campaign.

His defiant message came as Israeli tanks assembled for a potential ground invasion of Lebanon, while planes and drones launched an air strike on Beirut's southern suburbs.

Deaths

As enormous plumes of smoke rose above the densely populated area, Israel's military said it had been attacking Hezbollah's "central headquarters" in the city.

The intended target was reportedly Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, but sources from within the political and military group said last night he was alive and safe.

Even before the bombings, the death toll from Israeli air strikes stood at nearly 800 since Monday, Lebanese authorities said. But Mr Netanyahu told the UN General Assembly in New York that Israel will "continue degrading Hezbollah" until it achieves its goals along the Lebanon border and its citizens can return home safely.