Israel has killed Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a major attack on Beirut, the latest in a series of devastating blows against the Lebanese militant group.
The attack on a crowded residential area in south Beirut was part of intense bombardment by Israeli forces on Friday and marked a sharp escalation of attacks. Israeli attack against Hizbollah.
The Lebanese group confirmed Nasrallah’s death in a statement Saturday, saying he had joined the group’s long list of “martyrs.” They said their leadership would continue to fight against Israel “in support of Gaza and Palestine, and in defense of Lebanon and its steadfast and honorable people.”
Speaking late Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “the killing of Nasrallah is a necessary step to achieve the goals we have set,” including “changing the balance of power.” in the region for many years to come.”
He added that “the work is not yet done,” warning Israelis that they “will face significant challenges in the coming days.”
He also issued a warning to Israel’s opponents. “There is no place in Iran or the Middle East that is beyond Israel’s reach, and today you know how true that is,” Netanyahu said.
Herzi Halevi, chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, said the attack did not mark the end of Israeli operations. “This is not the end of our toolbox,” he said. “The message is simple: anyone who threatens Israeli citizens – we will know how to reach them.”
US President Joe Biden said Nasrallah’s death was “a measure of justice for his many victims”.
“The United States fully supports Israel’s right to self-defense against Hizbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and any other terrorist group supported by Iran,” he said in a statement released on Saturday. “Ultimately, our aim is to de-escalate the ongoing conflicts in both Gaza and Lebanon through diplomatic means.”
Mr. Biden added that it is time to sign agreements to end the conflicts in both Gaza and Lebanon.
Israel claimed the strike also killed Hizbollah’s southern front head, Ali Karaki, and other senior commanders. This is the latest in a series of debilitating Israeli attacks targeting the Iran-backed Hizbollah chain of command.
A senior commander of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard, Abbas Nilforoushan, who was meeting with Nasrallah was also killed, an Iranian official told the Financial Times. The death of the commander and Nasrallah, one of Iran’s closest allies, raises the risk of retaliation from the Islamic republic.
Lebanese officials warned an Iranian cargo plane to leave the country’s airspace because of the risk that Israel could target it, Iranian officials said on Friday. The Israeli military said Israeli air force planes were “patrolling the Beirut airport area” and would not allow “hostile flights carrying weapons to land” there.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the fate of the Middle East “will be decided by resistance forces”., foremost among them is Hizbollah.”
He added that “the group’s solid structure cannot be significantly destroyed” by “Zionist criminals,” who he said demonstrated “short-sighted and “stupidity”.
He called on all Muslims to stand with Hizbollah in the fight against “an occupying and cruel regime.”
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said at least 33 people were killed and 195 injured in the attack that killed Nasrallah. That number is expected to rise as rescuers continue to search for survivors.
On Saturday, explosions were heard in Beirut as Israel continued to strike Hizbollah targets and claimed to have killed a top member of the group’s intelligence division responsible for selecting targets in Israel.
The Israeli military also posted warnings on social media asking Lebanese to evacuate the southern suburbs of Beirut, the Bekaa Valley and southern Lebanon.
The IDF said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen that set off air raid sirens across central Israel. Late Saturday, sirens also sounded in many areas of Jerusalem as the IDF reported a missile coming from Lebanon.
Lebanese leaders from across the political spectrum called for unity, reflecting concerns that the fragile nation could slide into civil war following Nasrallah’s assassination.
Saad Hariri, the former prime minister, said: “We are very different from the deceased and his party and we rarely find common ground, but Lebanon is a place for everyone, and in these times In this extremely difficult time, our unity and solidarity are the foundation.” a statement.
Nasrallah’s death ended a disastrous two weeks for Hizbollah, during which the group suffered the heaviest successive blows in its four decades of existence.
Residents of Beirut said Israeli bombing attacks on Friday night and in the early hours of Saturday were among the most intense attacks in the city since Israel and Hizbollah fought a long war. 34 days in 2006.
The explosions lit up the sky throughout the night and threw huge clouds of dust into the air. Hundreds of people fled south of the city, where Hizbollah is entrenched, to seek shelter on beaches and public squares.
Over the past two weeks, Israel has escalated its offensive against the militant group, killing a series of its senior commanders. This week, it began heavy bombing of sites across Lebanon, killing more than 600 people and displacing more than 90,000.
On Wednesday, Israel called up two reserve brigades for “combat missions” in the north of the country, with Halevi asking the army to prepare for a possible ground offensive in Lebanon.
The Israeli military said it continued its bombing on Saturday, carrying out “widespread” bombing raids on the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon as well as hitting more targets in Beirut, after warnings reported that civilians in some crowded residential areas had to evacuate.
Additional reporting by Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran and Andrew England in London
