JERUSALEM -- The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement on Saturday that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an airstrike on the Lebanese organization's target in the southern suburbs of Beirut.

The statement said that Ali Karki, commander of the southern front in Hezbollah, and other commanders in the militant group were also killed in the massive airstrike.

"Warplanes of the Air Force under the precise intelligence guidance of the Military Intelligence and the defense system, attacked the central headquarters of Hezbollah, located underground, under a residential building in Dahieh in Beirut," according to the statement.

It added that the attack was carried out while top commanders of Hezbollah were at their headquarters.

Israel has intensified its airstrikes across Lebanon since Monday, marking the most extensive military action in the region since 2006.

This marks the latest escalation of the ongoing clashes that began on Oct 8, 2023, when Hezbollah started launching rockets at Israel in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, prompting Israel's retaliatory artillery fire and airstrikes into southeastern Lebanon.