Israel-Lebanon escalation : IDF reportedly dropped over 80 bombs to eliminate Nasrallah : Report

Sputnik
@SputnikInt

▪️ Over 80 bombs were dropped over a period of a few minutes to eliminate Hassan Nasrallah on Friday, two senior Israeli defense officials told the NYT. At least eight planes armed with 2,000-pound bunker buster bombs were used in the attack, video published on the IDF’s social media revealed. The bombs included the US-manufactured BLU-109 with a JDAM precision guidance system.

▪️ The IDF targeted Nasrallah because “he was building such a huge arsenal of weapons,” including 200,000 rockets, missiles, and drones for the sole purpose of going “to war with Israel,” retired IDF spokesperson Peter Lerner said.

▪️ According to Israeli sources, half of Hezbollah’s rockets and missiles – estimated at around 120,000 – have been neutralized during a week of intense Israeli military operations.

▪️ Israel hoped that the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah would “significantly degrade” the Lebanese movement, eliminating the need for a ground invasion, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing an unnamed senior Israeli official.

▪️ However, the possibility of an Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon “is not ruled out, but it is not confirmed either,” Roni Kaplan, an IDF spokesperson, told journalists.

▪️ The Pentagon is considering sending new forces to the Middle East following the elimination of Hassan Nasrallah by Israel, and various options have been presented to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin amid fears of a possible response from Iran or Hezbollah, NBC News reported, citing US officials.

▪️ Israel only notified the US about the IDF’s strike targeting Nasrallah after its planes were already in the air, a US official told The Times of Israel.

▪️ Kamala Harris echoed Joe Biden’s statement that Nasrallah’s killing was a “measure of justice,” claiming that “Nasrallah was a terrorist with American blood on his hands.”

▪️ Israel’s military said its fighter jets had attacked “hundreds of targets” in Lebanon in recent hours in a post on social media. The targets reportedly included rocket launch sites and buildings where weapons and “military structures” of the Hezbollah movement were stored.

▪️ Israeli attacks killed 33 people across Lebanon, with over 195 injured, the country’s Health Ministry said.