Low-flying “Israeli” military aircraft broke the sound barrier over Beirut Tuesday ahead of a speech by Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA), a security source and AFP journalists said.

The NNA said "Israeli warplanes broke the sound barrier... over the capital and in a number of areas". A security source said the Israeli aircraft were flying "at very low altitude".

AFP journalists reported windows rattling during the loud sonic boom.

The maneuver comes minutes before an address to mark the one-week memorial of Hezbollah's top military commander Fuad Shukr, killed in an “Israeli” strike last week in Beirut.

Witnesses said they could see the planes with the naked eye – as they created one of the largest sonic booms heard by residents in years.