Netanyahu will fly back to Israel on Shabbat due to Dahiyeh strike

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut his trip to New York short and will leave for Friday night on the Sabbath, following the IDF strike on Beirut that targeted Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah. The US had been notified shortly before the strike, an Israeli official said.

The Prime Minister's Office published a photograph of Netanyahu authorizing the strike on Hezbollah's central headquarters in Dahiyeh, Beirut, shortly before he addressed the high-level opening session of the 79th General Assembly. 

He had initially been scheduled to arrive in New York on Tuesday but landed on Thursday morning instead due to the escalating situation in Lebanon, with a plan of returning on Saturday night after the Sabbath.

This is the second time Netanyahu has flown on the Sabbath due to the IDF-Hezbollah war. He also cut short his trip to Washington in July after a missile killed twelve children in Majal Shams along Israel's northern border. Then he flew home on Saturday afternoon. It is unusual for an Israeli Prime Minister to fly on the Sabbath. It's a step that can be done only in an emergency situation.

After his speech to the UNGA Netanyahu had intended to brief reporters. He sat down and took questions, but never had time to answer them, leaving the room early due to the Dahiyeh strike.

The Pentagon said the US had no advance warning of Israel's strike on Hezbollah's central headquarters, adding that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin learned of the operation while it was underway during a phone call from Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. 

"We are still assessing the event and don't have any additional information or any further specifics to provide at this time," Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said. 

Singh did not comment on Israel's target or if Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is alive.