BEIRUT (AP) — The Israeli military said Friday it hit Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut, where a series of massive explosions leveled several buildings and sent clouds of orange and black smoke billowing into the sky.

The attacks in the suburbs south of the Lebanese capital came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at the United Nations and vowed that Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah would continue. His comments further dampened hopes for an internationally supported ceasefire to prevent a spiral into all-out war.

Three major Israeli television networks said Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was the target of the attacks. But the unconfirmed reports could not immediately be confirmed by The Associated Press, and the army declined to comment. However, given the size and timing of the explosion, there were strong indications that there may have been a valuable target in the buildings hit.

Last week, Israel set its sights on eliminating Hezbollah’s leadership on a scale never seen in previous conflicts.

Friday’s bombings were the worst ever in the Lebanese capital last year. Israeli army spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the target was Hezbollah’s headquarters, located beneath residential buildings. Four buildings in the Haret Hreik district of Dahiyeh were reduced to rubble, Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV reported. The explosion rattled windows and shook houses about 30 kilometers (18 miles) north of Beirut. Ambulances could be seen driving to the scene of the accident with sirens blaring.

Officials at a nearby hospital said they had sustained at least 10 injuries, three of them critically, including a Syrian child.

Israel dramatically stepped up its airstrikes in Lebanon this week, saying it was determined to end more than 11 months of Hezbollah fire on its territory. The scope of the Israeli operation remains unclear, but officials said a ground invasion to drive the militant group from the border was possible. Israel has moved thousands of troops toward the border in preparation.

At least 25 people were killed in Israeli strikes early Friday, Health Minister Firass Abiad said, bringing Lebanon’s death toll to over 720 this week. He said dozens of women and children were among the dead.

A predawn strike in the predominantly Sunni border town of Chebaa hit a house on Friday, killing nine members of the same family, the state news agency said. A local resident identified the dead as Hussein Zahra, his wife Ratiba, their five children and two of their grandchildren.

At the United Nations, Netanyahu vowed to “continue to degrade” Hezbollah until Israel achieves its goals.

Netanyahu’s comments have dampened hopes of a U.S.-backed call for a 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah to allow time for a diplomatic solution. Hezbollah has not responded to the proposal.

Iran-backed Hezbollah, the strongest force in Lebanon, began firing rockets at Israel almost immediately after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, saying it was a show of support for the Palestinians. Since then, there have been almost daily firefights with the Israeli military, forcing tens of thousands of people on both sides of the border to flee their homes.

An Israeli security official said he expected a possible war against Hezbollah would not last as long as the current war in Gaza because the Israeli military’s goals are much narrower.

In Gaza, Israel has vowed to overthrow Hamas’ military and political regime, but the goal in Lebanon is simply to push Hezbollah from the border with Israel – “not a high bar like Gaza” in terms of operational objectives, he said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to military briefing guidelines.

The Israeli military said it carried out dozens of attacks in the south within two hours on Friday, including in the cities of Sidon and Nabatiyeh. It said it targeted Hezbollah rocket launchers and infrastructure. Hezbollah was said to have fired a volley of rockets at the northern Israeli city of Tiberias.

In the southern Lebanese city of Tire, civil defense forces recovered the bodies of two women – 35-year-old Hiba Ataya and her mother Sabah Olyan – from the rubble of a building destroyed by a strike. “This is Sabah, these are her clothes, my love,” a man shouted as her body emerged.

Israel says its accelerated attacks this week have already inflicted severe damage on Hezbollah’s weapons capabilities – and a number of its top commanders have been assassinated in attacks. Officials have suggested that limited missile and rocket fire over the past week is evidence of a setback.

However, the group had a large arsenal of rockets and missiles and its remaining capabilities remain unknown.

Hezbollah officials and their supporters remain defiant. Shortly before Friday night’s explosions, thousands gathered in another part of Beirut’s suburbs for the funeral of three Hezbollah members killed in previous attacks, including the head of the group’s drone unit, Mohammed Surour.

Men and women in the huge crowd waved their fists in the air and chanted: “We will never accept humiliation” as they marched behind the three coffins, draped in the group’s yellow flag.

Hussein Fadlallah, Hezbollah’s chief in Beirut, said in a speech that no matter how many commanders Israel kills, the group has an infinite number of experienced fighters deployed across the front lines. Fadlallah promised that Hezbollah would continue fighting until Israel stopped its offensive in Gaza.

“We will not give up supporting Palestine, Jerusalem and the oppressed Gaza Strip,” Fadlallah said. “There is no place for neutrality in this fight.”