Powerful explosions occurred in the early morning hours of Friday at the southern outskirts of Beirut, near the Rafic Hariri International Airport.

Sources close to the Hezbollah movement told AFP that the Israeli army carried out at least 11 airstrikes against the movement's targets.

The National News Agency (NNA) of Lebanon reported more than ten consecutive airstrikes, one of the heaviest attacks on the Lebanese capital's southern suburbs.

The Israel Defense Forces did not comment on these airstrikes, but earlier had called for the evacuation of civilians in southern Beirut.

Beirut's aforesaid airport borders the Dahiyeh district, a Hezbollah stronghold and a constant target of Israeli airstrikes.

As reported by Axios and CNN, citing sources, the target of the latest Israeli airstrikes in Beirut could have been Hashem Safieddine, the cousin of the slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Safieddine has been named as the new leader of this movement, a possible successor to Nasrallah. It is not known whether Safieddine was injured as a result of these airstrikes.