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IDF: Hezbollah leaders' bunker hitNew blasts as conflict shows no signs of ebbing
 Smoke rises over Beirut on Thursday morning after what was thought to be an Israeli airstrike. QUICKVOTEYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSBEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- New explosions shook Beirut early Thursday, hours after Israeli warplanes dropped 23 tons of bombs on a bunker where Hezbollah leaders were holed up, according to the Israel Defense Forces. The explosions Thursday reportedly were caused by new Israeli airstrikes, but that could not be immediately confirmed. Hezbollah said via its Al-Manar television station that none of its leaders was in the bunker at the time of the huge Israeli airstrike. Hezbollah earlier said Israel hit a religious center with the attack. Dozens of bombs landed at about 11:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. ET), the IDF said. CNN crews in Beirut said they didn't hear any explosions or the sound of jets at the time the strike is said to have occurred. The conflict so far has caused "immeasurable loss" in Lebanon, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said Wednesday. He again called for a cease-fire and denounced Israel as a "savage war machine" responsible for more than 300 deaths in Lebanon. (Watch as hospitals in Lebanon are overwhelmed with the wounded -- 2:23) Another 1,000 people have been wounded and 500,000 displaced since hostilities began a week ago, Siniora said in a televised national address. (Watch the signs of a deepening crisis in Lebanon -- 3:57) The Lebanese Internal Security Forces reported, however, that 216 people had been killed and 524 injured as of 8 p.m. (1 p.m. ET) Wednesday. Siniora's call for a comprehensive cease-fire came as Israel's military continued its battle -- by air and by ground -- against Hezbollah targets inside Lebanon. (Watch as troops enter Lebanon and air raid sirens blare -- 1:44) Two Israeli soldiers died in heavy fighting, while Hezbollah rockets killed two Israeli children in northern cities, the IDF said. CNN's Karl Penhaul reported seeing many civilian casualties at the main hospital in Tyre, Lebanon, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the Israeli border. In its ongoing air assault, Israel's military targeted Beirut, hitting a vehicle in the city's Christian neighborhood -- shocking residents who do not wholly support the Islamic militant group. Israel has rejected calls for a cease-fire until it can push Hezbollah back from its northern frontier and retrieve two soldiers kidnapped in a cross-border raid July 12. Hezbollah continued to fire rockets into northern Israel on Wednesday, killing two children in Nazareth, the southernmost point where Israeli casualties have been reported so far. With Wednesday's deaths, 29 Israelis -- 15 civilians and 14 soldiers -- have been killed in the weeklong fighting, according to the IDF. The Israeli cities of Haifa, Tiberias, Acre, Shlomi and Carmiel were also targeted Wednesday. (See map of the area) Most residents are staying in bomb shelters or have left. The IDF confirmed its ground troops launched what it described as a pinpoint operation inside southern Lebanon. But the IDF did not say where the operation took place. "Their mission is to destroy Hezbollah outposts," an IDF spokesman told CNN early Wednesday. (Watch a soldier describe his orders to 'dismantle, attack, destroy' -- 1:25) Backing the operation were artillery units in northern Israel, able to fire howitzer rounds up to 17 miles (28 kilometers) inside Lebanon. Disband, disarm is goalIsraeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said Hezbollah was the biggest obstacle to Lebanese sovereignty, and Israel's end game was to disband and disarm it. Regev said Israel will not initiate conflict with Syria or Iran -- the financial and military backers of Hezbollah -- unless they attack Israel. "I can tell you unequivocally we have no intention of widening this conflict," he said. Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Dan Gillerman, stressed the latest operation was "in no way an invasion of Lebanon." For days a "small group" of Israeli troops has been traveling into Lebanon near the border fence, the IDF said. The goal is stop Hezbollah's cross-border attacks by destroying minefields and tunnels into Israel. A CNN team in Tyre heard explosions, drones and helicopters throughout the night. An IDF spokesman declined to say whether the helicopter movements there were linked to the ground operation. 'The most dangerous place'Israeli airstrikes again pounded the Beirut airport and the nearby southern suburbs. The Israeli military has justified the commercial airport as a target, saying Hezbollah weapons flowed through there. With the airport not functioning, residents have been stranded in the city with few options for escape. The United States and Israel consider Hezbollah a terrorist organization. The group, which has claimed responsibility for terrorist acts, also operates an extensive network of social services in Lebanon. In addition, Hezbollah holds seats in the Lebanese parliament. Hezbollah officials gave CNN access into the southern suburbs of Beirut -- the area thought to house the organization's headquarters -- to show the damage inflicted on civilians there. They also wanted to show they do not house military stockpiles there, CNN's Nic Robertson reported. But he could not confirm what, if anything, was being stored. "You never know when Israeli jet fighters come and hit any target in this area," Hussein Nabulsi, a Hezbollah press officer, said on the tour. "It is very, very dangerous. We are now at the most dangerous place at the most dangerous moment." (Watch attack fears force a CNN crew from ruined Beirut neighborhood -- 4:46) Pausing before an apartment building, Nabulsi said, "Look what happened to this building, inhabited by innocent civilians ... no military bases, nothing." He said he was surprised that the United Nations and international community had not expressed outrage at the damage inflicted on the Lebanese. "Where is the international community? Where is the Security Council? Where's the United Nations? Where's the whole world?" Nabulsi asked. "We are under fire." The continuing violence is raising concerns that others in the region would join the conflict. (Watch why and how Syrians are backing folks labeled as terrorists -- 2:30) In other developments:CNN's Matthew Chance, Nic Robertson, Elise Labott and Karl Penhaul contributed to this report. Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 
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