Israeli military aircraft flew at a high altitude, breaking the sound barrier three times over Beirut, shortly before a speech by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Tuesday.
Israeli warplanes flew low over the Lebanese capital, with witnesses saying they could see the planes with the naked eye. The booms were the loudest heard in Beirut in years. The loud booms sent residents rushing to open their windows to prevent the glass from shattering or standing on their balconies to get a glimpse of the planes flying over. There was no comment from the Israeli military.
One Reuters reporter saw people at a cafe in Beirut’s Badaro district scatter as the sound reverberated through the city.
In the capital’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, members and supporters of the Lebanese armed group had gathered to watch a televised speech by its leader to mark the one-week anniversary of Israel’s killing of a senior military commander.
As he began, Nasrallah said the sonic booms were intended to provoke those gathered for the memorial.
The strike that killed commander Fuad Shukr was the second time Israel had struck the southern suburbs in 10 months, as Israel tries to spread its violent attacks in Gaza across the region.
Hezbollah earlier on Tuesday said it launched a swarm of attack drones at two military sites near Acre in northern Israel and also attacked an Israeli military vehicle in another location.
Hezbollah has promised to respond to the killing, which came just hours before Israel’s assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
The twin killings have pushed the region to the brink of war, with Iran also vowing a painful response.
