Israeli strikes near Beirut airport reportedly targeted presumed Nasrallah successor

Israel carried out fresh strikes in Beirut, Lebanon, early Friday with large explosions reported outside the city’s international airport right after an aircraft landed. Smoke was seen nearby after jets were heard overhead, Reuters reported quoting witnesses.

Early Friday, Axios reporter Barak Ravid, citing an Israeli source, said in a post on social media platform X that the strike reportedly targeted senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine.

Notably, the airport borders the Dahieh area, a Hezbollah stronghold in the capital.

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Safieddine is said to be the heir of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. No official statement has been released to confirm Ravid's report.

Data from the Flightradar 24 website showed the flight that landed was a Middle East Airlines ME429 from Dubai

Israel calls for evacuation of dozens of villages

Israel has been moving forward with its attacks against Hezbollah and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have ordered 20 more towns and villages in the south to evacuate. This includes the regional capital of Nabatieh, where people have been asked to leave immediately for their own safety.

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These are all located north of the Litani river, which lies about 30km (18 miles) from the border. Before invading Lebanon, Israel had told Hezbollah to withdraw to the Litani, in accordance with a UN Security Council resolution that ended their last war in 2006.

Two Lebanese soldiers killed

Meanwhile, the Lebanese army said two of its soldiers had been killed in the country's south.

The army said that one soldier was killed in the first incident and another was wounded following "an aggression by the Israeli enemy during an evacuation and rescue operation with the Lebanese Red Cross in Taybeh village".

The Red Cross said four of its volunteers were also lightly wounded. The army said that in the second incident, the Israeli enemy targeted an army post in the Bint Jbeil area, killing another soldier.

“The personnel at the post responded to the sources of fire,” the Lebanese army added.

Biden doesn't believe 'all-out war' in Middle East will happen

As tensions escalate in the Middle East, US President Joe Biden said on Thursday he did not believe there is going to be an "all-out war" in the Middle East.

When asked how confident he was about averting such a war, Biden said, "How confident are you it's not going to rain? Look, I don't believe there is going to be an all-out war. I think we can avoid it."

He added, "But there is a lot to do yet, a lot to do yet."

Residential building hit

Nearly 24 hours before the airstrikes, a residential building in the centre of the capital was hit. Nine people were killed in the attacks, and a civil defence agency linked to Hezbollah reported that seven of its first responders were also among the deceased.

According to Lebanon’s health minister, more than 40 paramedics and firefighters had been killed by Israeli fire in the past three days.