(Daniel Carde/Getty Images)

Preliminary reports in Israel suggest Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was eliminated Friday in an Israeli airstrike that destroyed the terror group’s central headquarters in downtown Beirut, a game-changing operation that comes as a significant blow to Iran and its proxies.

Reports across Israeli media say that Nasrallah was one of many killed in a pinpoint strike on Hezbollah’s stronghold. The strike also reportedly took out the terror group's "number two" commander and is believed to have killed many other senior Hezbollah operatives.

"The assessment in Israel: Nasrallah is eliminated," stated a Hebrew-language headline on Israel’s Channel 12 news station. A second outlet said there is "cautious optimism in Israel: The strike on Nasrallah succeeded," according to the Times of Israel.

The reports are bolstered by Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s abrupt decision to leave New York City early, just hours after he addressed the United Nations General Assembly. Nasrallah’s death would mark a sea change for Lebanon and the larger Middle East, which has been plagued by the Iran-backed terror group for decades.

It is also likely to infuriate Tehran’s hardline regime, which has long treated Hezbollah as its crowning terror proxy. In the wake of the strike, Iran's embassy in Beirut said it "represents a dangerous escalation that changes the rules of the game."

Regional analysts described the possibility of Nasrallah’s death as a "strategic game-changer for Tehran." Former White House National Security Council member Richard Goldberg noted that Nasrallah "took over" for Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, becoming senior strategist for Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

"Nasrallah had operational control of Lebanon and Syria," wrote Goldberg. "This is not just a strategic game-changer for Hezbollah, Lebanon and Syria, it's a strategic game-changer for Tehran."

Jonathan Schanzer, a Middle East expert at the Foundation For Defense of Democracies, said that in addition to Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s "key leadership structure" and some Iranian officials may have been eradicated in Friday’s strike.

Netanyahu, in his earlier remarks before the U.N., vowed to confront Iran if it attacks the Jewish state.

"I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran," Netanyahu said. "If you strike us, we will strike you."

Wild Footage showing the Series of Israeli Airstrikes against the Hezbollah Command Bunker in Southern Beirut. pic.twitter.com/hVtQvd8H4K

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) September 27, 2024

The terror group’s executive council head, Hashin Safi al-Din, known as Nasrallah's "number two," was reported by Lebanese sources to have been killed in the strike, which capped more than a week of Israeli air assaults that have killed at least four other senior Hezbollah commanders. Almost all of Hezbollah’s top military leaders have been eliminated since Israel began one of the most intense series of airstrikes in its history.

"Hezbollah's central headquarters was intentionally built under residential buildings in the heart of the Dahiyeh in Beirut as part of Hezbollah's strategy of using Lebanese people as human shields," IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari said earlier in the day, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered an address before the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

The building struck by Israeli forces was identified as the "epicenter of Hezbollah's terror activities," according to the Jerusalem Post. Nasrallah and his staff were believed to be visiting the site when Israel struck. President Joe Biden said the United States "had no knowledge of or participation in the IDF action."

The apparent lack of notifying Washington, D.C., comes amid hurried efforts by the Biden-Harris administration to thrust a ceasefire on Israel, ending the Jewish state's operations as Hezbollah suffers significant losses. The Pentagon announced earlier in the week that it is not providing Israel with intelligence or support, further straining relations between the allies as the White House seeks to tie the Jewish state’s hands.

Netanyahu reportedly greenlit the attack while he was at the U.N., delivering a fiery speech that took aim at Hezbollah’s masters in Iran.

"I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran," Netanyahu said. "If you strike us, we will strike you."

Netanyahu's office releases photo showing the Israeli PM in his NYC hotel room approving an airstrike on Hezbollah's main headquarters in Beirut pic.twitter.com/vutUHU1JQI

— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) September 27, 2024

After his address, which drew protests from anti-Semitic mobs and U.N. diplomats, Netanyahu planned to fly back to Israel, cutting his trip short as the Israeli military plans for a ground incursion into Lebanon. Social media observers noted that it is unusual for Netanyahu to fly on a Friday evening, the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath.

"The Prime Minister has decided to move up his return to Israel and will depart the United States tonight," Netanyahu’s office said.

Earlier in the day, while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the U.N. gathering, Netanyahu abruptly ended the briefing after his military adviser "whispered something" in his ear, according to the Times of Israel.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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