Israeli army says Nasrallah killed in Dahieh strike
Israel's military announced Saturday that Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut the previous night, but there was no confirmation from the Lebanese armed group.
"Hassan Nasrallah is dead," military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani announced on X.
Captain David Avraham, another military spokesman, also confirmed to AFP that the Hezbollah chief had been "eliminated" following strikes Friday on the Lebanese capital.
A source close to the Iran-backed group told AFP on condition of anonymity that contact with Nasrallah had been lost since Friday evening.
Contact with him was lost for two days and he was rumoured to have been killed during Israel's last war with Hezbollah in 2006, the source said, adding that he later re-emerged unscathed.
There has been no official confirmation from Hezbollah about Nasrallah's fate since the Israeli military's announcement.
An Israeli military statement said the strikes also killed Ali Karake, who the statement identified as commander of Hezbollah's southern front, and an unspecified number of other Hezbollah commanders.
"The strike was conducted while Hezbollah's senior chain of command were operating from the headquarters and advancing terrorist activities against the citizens of the State of Israel," the statement said.
"During Hassan Nasrallah's 32-year reign as the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, he was responsible for the murder of many Israeli civilians and soldiers, and the planning and execution of thousands of terrorist activities," the statement said.
"He was responsible for directing and executing terrorist attacks around the world in which civilians of various nationalities were murdered. Nasrallah was the central decision-maker and the strategic leader of the organisation."
Hezbollah began firing into Israel one day after Hamas's October 7 attack on southern Israel that sparked the war in Gaza.
Israel has in recent days shifted the focus of its operation from Gaza to Lebanon, where heavy bombing has killed more than 700 people and displaced around 118,000.
28 September 2024, 11:21
01
Good freaking riddance, about time, just for Hariri and all those he killed is finally done, 3e2beil the rest of the Iranian slaves
28 September 2024, 17:57
20
Frankly, I continue to harbor reservations about the series of assassinations involving Hariri and others. Similarly, I remain skeptical about the Beirut port explosion, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds and left thousands injured. The Zionist agenda, which is malign and deeply manipulative, raises profound questions. Consider this: the potential disappearance of Nasrallah’s remains, much like Rafic Hariri’s, suggests the possibility of a common orchestrator. It could very well be the same unseen force at play, though equally plausible is the notion of retributive justice.
28 September 2024, 20:45
11
Now is the time for the Government of the Republic of Lebanon and the Lebanese Armed Forces to decide that they are going to retake the whole of the territory of the republic and throw the terrorists out. They must realisae that now is the time to turn the country around and get it to eventually return to its position as "Paris of the Middle East". Then it will also be in the position of joining the Abraham Accords.
