2024 Hezbollah Headquarters Strike

On 27 September 2024, the Israeli Air Force conducted an airstrike, codenamed "New Order" by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), on Hezbollah's central headquarters in the Haret Hreik neighborhood of Beirut's Dahieh suburb. The target was a bunker located more than 60 feet (18 m) underground beneath residential apartment buildings, where Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah and other senior leaders were meeting. The strike, reportedly conducted using F-15I or F-16I fighter jets, involved more than 80 bombs dropped within minutes, destroying the underground facility and several nearby buildings. The attack occurred shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly, stating Israel's campaign against Hezbollah would continue.

The IDF announced Nasrallah's death on 28 September 2024, which Hezbollah confirmed later that day. His body was recovered from the rubble on 29 September with no obvious external wounds; Reuters reported that two sources suggested he died from blunt force trauma. The Lebanese health ministry reported at least 33 fatalities and 195 injuries as of 28 September, noting the toll was likely to rise as rubble searches continued. Among the dead were Ali Karaki, commander of Hezbollah's Southern Front, and Abbas Nilforoushan, deputy commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and commander of the Quds Force in Lebanon.

The strike followed a period of significant setbacks for Hezbollah, including coordinated explosions of the group's handheld communication devices on 17–18 September and the assassination of Redwan Force commander Ibrahim Aqil on 20 September. Between 23 and 26 September, Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon had killed over 700 people and displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the headquarters strike and prior attacks, calling them "a war of extermination," and declared three days of national mourning.

In the aftermath, Naim Qassem was named Hezbollah's interim leader. Hashem Safieddine, identified as a possible permanent successor, survived the headquarters strike but was killed in a separate Israeli airstrike in Beirut on 3 October 2024; his death was confirmed by Hezbollah on 23 October. Qassem was formally elected secretary-general on 29 October 2024. The bodies of Nasrallah and Safieddine were buried temporarily before official funeral ceremonies held on 23 February 2025.

International reactions varied widely. Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei declared five days of mourning and convened an emergency security council meeting, while U.S. President Joe Biden called Nasrallah's death "a measure of justice for his many victims." Other governments, including Russia, China, and South Africa, condemned the strike as a violation of sovereignty or an extrajudicial killing. A ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon took effect on 27 November 2024, though violations have since been reported.