Rhino: Agencies – Israeli warplanes flew low over the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, causing loud sonic booms minutes before the start of a speech by Hassan Nasrallah, secretary-general of the Iran-allied Hezbollah group.
The explosions prompted residents to rush to open windows to prevent glass shattering or stand on balconies to catch a glimpse of the planes as they flew overhead. There was no comment from the Israeli military.
In the southern suburb of Beirut, Hezbollah’s stronghold, members and supporters of the militant group gathered to watch Nasrallah’s televised speech a week after the killing of its top military commander Fouad Shukr.
Nasrallah said at the beginning of the speech that the sonic booms were meant to provoke those gathered.
The strike that killed Shukr was the second time Israel has struck the southern suburbs during the ten-month hostilities between Hizbullah and the Israeli army, which run parallel to the Gaza war.