In pictures: The site where Hezbollah's leader was killed

 Hezbollah’s longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed Friday in an Israeli airstrike on his underground headquarters in Beirut — a significant escalation in the war.

A series of loud explosions rang out and smoke rose from the city’s southern suburbs. Images broadcast on local TV showed a huge crater where six buildings had been, as rescuers navigated the rubble. The strikes crushed residential buildings that sunk beneath the ground, leaving a crater bigger than the size of a soccer field.

Footage of the level of damage indicated that Israel had used 2,000-pound bombs, a weapons expert told CNN.

People gather at the site of the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs on Sunday.

Hassan Ammar/AP

People gather at the site of the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, on Sunday. 

Hassan Ammar/AP

People gather at the site of the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, on Sunday. 

Hassan Ammar/AP

A woman reads the Quran at the site of the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, on Sunday. 

Hassan Ammar/AP

People gather at the site of the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon, on Sunday. 

Hassan Ammar/AP