Beirut, Lebanon - Israel conducted a wave of air strikes on the south of Lebanon's capital Beirut on Friday just moments after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to keep fighting the militant group.

The strikes, heard across the Mediterranean city, sent huge clouds of smoke soaring above its densely populated southern suburbs, the main bastion of Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Hezbollah has been fighting Israeli troops along the Lebanon border since its Palestinian ally Hamas staged its unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7.

Israel shifted its focus from the war in Gaza to Lebanon this week, unleashing air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds around the country that have killed hundreds and forced 118,000 more to flee their homes.

Ukraine conflict Russia vows to respond with "appropriate measures" as Ukraine strikes with US missiles

While Friday's strikes on south Beirut were not this week's first, they were by far the fiercest.

Vowing to secure its border with Lebanon, Israel has since Monday pounded Hezbollah strongholds chiefly in the east and south of the country, defying calls from world leaders and aid agencies to halt the violence.

A source close to Hezbollah said the strikes leveled six buildings, and according to a preliminary toll, two people were killed and 76 wounded.

Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said the strike targeted "the central headquarters" of Hezbollah in the southern suburbs of the city.

Israeli television networks reported that Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was the target of the strike, though the source close to Hezbollah said he was "fine."

The bombing came moments after Netanyahu concluded his address to UN General Assembly delegates in New York, in which he vowed to keep up strikes against Hezbollah and fight "until victory" against Hamas.

Earlier this month, Netanyahu said Israel would fight Hezbollah until thousands of Israelis displaced by the cross-border fighting could return to their homes.

Joke of the Day Joke of the Day for December 9, 2024: The best jokes to get your funny on

"As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice, and Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their home safe," Netanyahu told the UN General Assembly, adding that operations against the Iran-backed militant group will "continue until we meet our objectives."

Earlier Friday, Hezbollah fired rockets into the northern Israeli city of Tiberias, saying it was responding to "savage" strikes on Lebanese towns and villages.

The Lebanon violence has raised fears of wider turmoil in the Middle East, with Iran-backed militants across the region vowing to keep up their fight with Israel.

Netanyahu took aim at Iran in his UN General Assembly address, saying, "I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran. If you strike us, we will strike you."

He added, "There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach, and that's true of the entire Middle East."

Analysts have said Iran would try to resist being dragged into the conflict.

But following the Beirut strikes, Iran's embassy in Lebanon said, "This reprehensible crime... represents a dangerous escalation that changes the rules of the game."

Israel "will receive the appropriate punishment," it added in a post on X.