Israeli Planes Bomb Bunker Near Beirut, Targeting Hezbollah’s Presumed Next Leader

The Israeli military unleashed an intense bombing campaign against an underground bunker near Beirut early Friday in a bid to target Hashem Safieddine, a cousin and the presumed successor of the assassinated Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah, according to three Israeli officials.

Israeli planes bombed a meeting of senior Hezbollah leaders outside the Lebanese capital, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence matters. The bombardment was one of the heaviest in the area since the war began last October, according to Lebanon’s state-run news agency.

A series of loud explosions rocked the area near the Dahiya, the densely populated area south of Beirut, the Lebanese capital, where Hezbollah holds sway. The shock waves rippled across the city, shaking buildings, and people at least 15 miles away could hear them. The fate of the Hezbollah leaders, including that of Mr. Safieddine, was not immediately clear.

The strikes came hours after the Israeli military issued evacuation warnings on Thursday for 20 more towns and villages in southern Lebanon, signaling a potential expansion of its assault on Hezbollah as the death toll from an Israeli bombing in Beirut rose to nine.

Israel’s evacuation orders covered areas farther north than those in previous Israeli warnings and included Nabatieh, one of the largest cities in southern Lebanon. The cities and towns lie above the upper boundary of a buffer zone that the United Nations established after Israel and Hezbollah fought a monthlong war in 2006.

The war has been threatening to expand even further as Israel weighs a possible strike on Iran, which supports Hamas and Hezbollah, after Tehran fired 200 missiles at Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for the assassinations of Mr. Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s longtime leader, last week; Hamas’s political leader, Ismail Haniyeh; and an Iranian commander.