The Israeli military said on Saturday it had killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on the group’s central headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut a day earlier. Hezbollah later confirmed that its leader was killed.
The group said in a statement it would continue its battle against Israel “in support of Gaza and Palestine, and in defence of Lebanon and its steadfast and honourable people.”
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV started airing Koran verses after the announcement of Nasrallah’s death.
The Israeli military “eliminated … Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Hezbollah terrorist organisation,” Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote in a statement on X. “Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorise the world.”
Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 28, 2024
Israel launched a new wave of airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs and other areas of Lebanon on Saturday, a day after carrying out the massive attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut known as Dahiyeh.
Commanders Killed
Earlier, a source close to Hezbollah told Reuters that Nasrallah was alive. Iran’s Tasnim news agency also reported he was safe. A senior Iranian security official told Reuters that Tehran was checking his status.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it had also killed the commander of Hezbollah’s missile unit, Muhammad Ali Ismail, and his deputy Hossein Ahmed Ismail.
‘Israel Has No Choice’
Hours before the latest barrage, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the United Nations that his country had a right to continue the campaign.
“As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice, and Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their homes safely,” he said.
Several delegations walked out as Netanyahu approached the lectern. He later cut short his New York trip to return to Israel.
Lebanese health authorities confirmed six dead and 91 wounded in the initial attack on Friday – the fourth on Beirut’s Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs in a week and the heaviest since a 2006 war.
Impact Of Airstrikes?
Israel’s military described the assault as the most powerful yet on Hezbollah, targeting the underground bunker believed to be Hezbollah’s central command.
While Hezbollah’s chain of command has been attacked previously too, it had, together with its extensive tunnel network and a vast arsenal of missiles and weapons, bolstered itself over the past year.
On Friday, a Hezbollah official said last week’s attack on communication devices had put 1,500 Hezbollah fighters out of commission because of their injuries. Many of these were blinded or had their hands blown off.
While that is a major blow, Nasrallah had said that it represents a fraction of Hezbollah’s strength.
Since October, when Hezbollah began firing at Israel in October in support of its ally Hamas in Gaza, it has redeployed fighters to frontline areas in the south, including some from Syria, the three sources said.
It has also been bringing rockets into Lebanon at a fast pace, anticipating a drawn-out conflict, the sources said, adding that the group sought to avoid all out war.
(with inputs from Reuters)
