Israel targets Hezbollah intelligence headquarters in Lebanon; Iran says it will not back down

Israel said it had targeted the intelligence headquarters of Hezbollah in Beirut and was assessing the damage on Friday after a series of strikes on senior figures in the group that Iran's Supreme Leader dismissed as counterproductive.

Israel has been weighing options in its response to Iran's ballistic missile attack on Tuesday, which Iran had carried out in response to Israel's military action in Lebanon.

Oil prices have risen on the possibility of an attack on Iran's oil facilities as Israel pursues its goals of pushing back Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and eliminating their Hamas allies in Gaza.

The air attack on Beirut, part of a wider assault that has driven more than 1.2 million Lebanese from their homes, was reported to have targeted the potential successor to the leader of Iran-backed Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, killed by Israel a week ago.

Hashem Safieddine's fate was unclear and neither Israel nor Hezbollah have offered any comment.

A blast was heard and smoke was seen over Beirut's southern suburbs early on Saturday, Reuters witnesses said, as the Israeli military issued three alerts for residents of the area to immediately evacuate.

The first alert warned residents in a building in the Burj al-Barajneh neighborhood and the second in a building in Choueifat district. The third alert mentioned buildings in Haret Hreik as well as Burj al-Barajneh.

In a statement early on Saturday, Hezbollah also said the Israeli army was trying to infiltrate the Lebanese southern town of Odaisseh and that clashes there were ongoing.

U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday he would think about alternatives to striking Iranian oil fields if he were in Israel's shoes, adding that he thinks Israel has not yet concluded how