Israeli sonic booms rattle Lebanese capital as Hezbollah leader delivers speech

Israeli warplanes swooped low over the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, setting off a series of sonic booms that rattled windows across the city minutes before the head of Lebanon's Hezbollah was set to give an address.

The loud booms sent residents rushing to open their windows to prevent the glass from shattering, or standing on their balconies to get a glimpse of the planes flying over.

In the capital's southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold, members and supporters of the Lebanese armed group had gathered to watch a televised speech by its leader to mark the one-week anniversary of Israel's killing of a senior military commander, Fuad Shukr.

As he began, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said the sonic booms were intended to provoke those gathered for the memorial.