Israel attack on Lebanon: Hezbollah confirms its leader Hassan Nasrallah is dead in Beirut strike
The IDF has confirmed that they have killed the Hezbollah chief in airstrikes
Highlights
- Israel says it killed Hezbollah chief in Beirut strike
- Hezbollah confirms leader Nasrallah's death
- Lebanon security source says new Israeli strike on south Beirut
- Dozens of buildings razed in Israeli strikes on south Beirut
Beirut: Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah has been killed, the Lebanese movement said Saturday, dealing a seismic blow to the Iran-backed group that has been engaged in a year of cross-border hostilities with Israel.
Hezbollah's statement confirms earlier announcements from Israel's military that they had killed Nasrallah in an air strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, in a move that could destabilise Lebanon as a whole.
"Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary General of Hezbollah, has joined his great, immortal martyr comrades whom he led for about 30 years," Hezbollah said in a statement.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has earlier reportedly confirmed they have killed Nasrallah in airstrikes that targeted Southern Suburbs of Beirut last night.
"Hassan Nasrallah is dead," Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani had announced earlier on X.
Another military spokesman, Captain David Avraham, told AFP the Hezbollah chief had been "eliminated" in Friday night strikes on Beirut.
Ali Karki also killed
The strikes, carried out late Friday night, also reportedly killed senior Hezbollah commander Ali Karki, alongside other key figures in the group.
The confirmation followed initial reports from Israeli media that Israel’s security services had conclusive proof of Nasrallah’s death during a major assassination operation.
Senior Iran Guards general killed
A senior general in Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps was killed in an Israeli air strike in Lebanon alongside Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, state media reported.
General Abbas Nilforoushan, deputy commander of Guards operations, "was killed in Israel's attack on Lebanon that assassinated the Hezbollah chief," said the official IRNA news agency, giving no further details.
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How it happened
The airstrikes targeted Hezbollah’s central military headquarters, located in a heavily fortified underground facility beneath a residential building in the Dahieh district of Beirut, a stronghold of the militant group.
The IDF's statement noted that the attack was based on intelligence from Israel's Mossad and was launched while Hezbollah’s leadership was inside the headquarters coordinating operations.
Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah for 32 years, was the principal architect behind the group’s military and terrorist activities, which included attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers, as well as operations abroad.
Nasrallah, a 64-year-old Shiite cleric, took control of Hezbollah in 1992 after his predecessor, Abbas Al Musawi, was assassinated by Israeli forces.
Under Nasrallah’s leadership, Hezbollah became not only a dominant political party in Lebanon but also an entity with a robust military presence, wielding significant influence across the region.
Nasrallah’s tenure included leading the fight against Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon, ultimately forcing Israeli forces to withdraw in 2000 without a peace treaty.
The airstrikes and subsequent confirmation of Nasrallah’s death come amid heightened tensions between Israel and Hezbollah, as well as growing concerns about the potential for broader conflict in the region.
The IDF emphasized that Nasrallah, throughout his leadership, was directly responsible for orchestrating thousands of terrorist acts and the deaths of countless Israeli civilians and soldiers.
Strikes continue
The Israeli military said it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets on Saturday in eastern and southern Lebanon, as the Lebanese armed group fired rockets into northern Israel.
Saturday morning's wave of Israeli strikes followed intense overnight bombardment targeting Hezbollah's southern Beirut stronghold, the site of a massive Israeli attack on Friday that flattened several residential buildings.
"The IAF (air force) conducted extensive strikes on dozens of terror targets belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organisation in the area of Beqaa (east) and in different areas of southern Lebanon," the military said in a statement.
Air raid sirens sounded across northern Israel early on Saturday, warning of a barrage of rockets being fired from across the border.