Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, was killed in an Israeli strike on a Beirut suburb on Friday, the Israeli military said on Saturday.
Hezbollah has so far not confirmed the death of Nasrallah or commented on the Israeli claims.
“Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) wrote in a post on social media platform X.
The Hezbollah commander responsible for southern Lebanon, Ali Karaki, was also killed, alongside other high-ranking commanders, it said.
The killing of the 64-year-old Nasrallah, a cleric who has lead Hezbollah for 30 years and built the Lebanese militant group into a powerful force, would be one of the heaviest blows ever dealt by Israel to Hezbollah.
It’s difficult to predict how Hezbollah might respond, or what the consequences for the ongoing conflict with Israel and the broder region might be.
Fears that mutual attacks between Israel and Hezbollah could escalate into an all-out war have been rising since Israel launched a massive aerial campaign on Hezbollah targets across Lebanon on Monday, killing hundreds of people so far.
Hezbollah continued to attack Israel on Saturday, taking responsibility for several missile attacks on the neighbouring country, but did not make any comment on the Israeli claims about Nasrallah’s death.
A group of Israeli soldiers was attacked by artillery shells in northern Israel, the Iran-backed Shiite militia said.
A rocket salvo was fired at the northern Israeli kibbutz of Sa’ar, according to Hezbollah.
Further missiles were launched at the village of Rosh Pina in retaliation for “the brutal Israeli attacks” on Lebanon, it said.
Meanwhile, Israel also continued its attacks on Lebanon overnight and during the day on Saturday, with reports of new airstrikes hitting the southern suburbs of Beirut in the afternoon.
Israel said Friday’s attack on a southern Beirut suburb was a targeted strike on the Hezbollah headquarters said to have been located underneath residential buildings.
After the attack in the neighbourhood of Haret Hreik near the airport, thick clouds of smoke could be seen, followed by large piles of rubble.
According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, at least six people were killed and 91 injured in the attack. However the death toll is expected to rise further as several buildings were completely destroyed, according to state media.
The Israeli army said it was currently not aware of any civilian casualties from the strike, according to military sources.
The assessment that Nasrallah had been killed in the attack was based on a combination of secret service information, they said.
The Israeli military had obtained information that Nasrallah and other Hezbollah commanders convened in the headquarters, among other indications, according to the sources.
Israel’s military chief issued a threat to other enemies of the country shortly after announcing the death of Nasrallah.
“The message to all those who threaten the citizens of the state of Israel is simple: we will know how to reach them. In the north, in the south and in more distant places,” Israel’s Chief of General Staff Herzi Halevi said.
He said that the attack on Friday which reportedly killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had been prepared for a long time.
“It came at the right time and in a very sharp manner,” Halevi said.
Nasrallah joined Hezbollah, which means “the party of god,” in 1982. Following the Israeli assassination of his predecessor, Abbas al-Mussawi, in 1992, he became the group’s leader.
He built the Shiite militia into a formidable military force and helped forge very close ties with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the group’s most important backer and supplier.
He saw the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon in 2000, which had been occupied since 1982, and also led Hezbollah through the 2006 Israeli invasion, which he described as a “divine victory” for his forces.
Hezbollah has also been hit hard by massive strikes by Israel in recent weeks. It has been significantly weakened in terms of its leadership, its means of communication and probably also its fighting morale.
Pagers and radios used by Hezbollah fighters exploded in a series of coordinated attacks earlier this month believed to have been carried out by Israel, which killed dozens and left thousands injured.
Source Agencies
