Photo: Netanyahu Approved Airstrike on Hezbollah HQ from New York Hotel Room PMO

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved Friday’s airstrike on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut, Lebanon, from his hotel room in New York City prior to his speech to the United Nations General Assembly.

The Prime Minister’s Office released a photograph that it said showed Netanyahu approving the massive airstrike.

The massive attack targeted Hezbollah’s underground headquarters in the Dahiyeh neighborhood of Beirut.

It was not clear at the time of the photo’s release whether Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had survived the attack.

Netanyahu apparently delivered his address knowing that the attack was under way. He cut short a press conference after the speech when a military aide whispered in his ear.

The prime minister’s office said that Netanyahu would return to Israel Friday, returning home on Saturday, taking the unusual step of traveling on the Jewish Sabbath for reasons of pressing national security.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that it is on high alert, ready for any action, defensive or offensive. There had been no response from Hezbollah or any other Iranian proxies as of 8:30 p.m. in Israel.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

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