What we know about Israel's recent attacks on Lebanon | Explanatory messages

Israel says the heavy attacks, which leveled several residential buildings in southern Beirut, were aimed at Hezbollah's “central command.”

Israel targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut with a series of attacks on Friday. It was the heaviest bombardment since it escalated its offensive against Lebanon earlier this month.

More than a dozen explosions were reported in the Dahiyeh district, which has been the target of airstrikes in recent days. Hezbollah channel Al-Manar TV said the attacks destroyed at least seven buildings in the district's Haret Hreik suburb, turning them into a pile of rubble. The station said more than 15 rockets hit the area. Civil defense teams are working to put out several fires in the area and have asked people to donate blood as there is a high chance of a high number of casualties.

The explosions could be heard as far away as Jounieh, a 25-minute drive north of Beirut. “This attack was massive,” Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr said. “I have covered many episodes of Israeli airstrikes in these southern suburbs of Beirut, but nothing like this.”

Why did Israel attack there?

Israeli military officials said they struck Hezbollah's “central headquarters,” built beneath “residential buildings,” in what they called a “precision strike.” They warned that they still had “more work to do” and suggested that more attacks were imminent.

Israeli media reported that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was at the attacked headquarters and that Israel used “bunker-busting” bombs. Sources close to Hezbollah disputed the report and said Nasrallah was “in a safe place.”

What about the people in the buildings?

Dahiyeh is a densely populated area home to more than half a million civilians. Many of them tried to flee to safety when Israel began attacking the area last week. Dozens of people had already been killed in air strikes on the district before Friday.

The neighborhood was largely destroyed during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war.

Israel has accused Hezbollah of “deliberately” placing its headquarters under residential buildings and using the Lebanese people “as human shields.” While Hezbollah has its headquarters in the area, Dahiyeh “is a suburb, just like any other suburb in the world,” said Al Jazeera correspondent Ali Hashem.

“Many families began to think about leaving and weighed their options, but where?” he said, noting that locations across Lebanon had been targeted in recent days. “Everything is being hit right now.”

A resident of the neighboring Palestinian refugee camp Bourj el Baraneh told Al Jazeera the attack has shaken the entire area and residents of the camp are now fleeing to other areas.

How many people were injured?

Initial reports said at least two people were killed and 76 injured, but the death toll is believed to be much higher.

Was there a warning?

Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said in a press conference that Israel did not inform the US in advance of the attack, but that Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant spoke by phone with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin when the attack was already underway.

The attacks came as reports emerged in recent days that negotiations for a ceasefire may be underway. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised that Israel will continue its attacks.

Speaking at the United Nations in New York City on Friday, just hours before the attacks, he said: “As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice, and Israel has every right to eliminate this threat and “To give our citizens back home safely.”

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, also in New York at the UN General Assembly, said in a statement: “The new aggression proves that the Israeli enemy does not care about all international efforts and calls for a ceasefire.”