TEL AVIV: Hezbollah has confirmed that its chief, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli overnight strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
“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.
Earlier today, the Israeli military has claimed on Saturday that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in a strike on Beirut.
“Hassan Nasrallah is dead,” Israel’s army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani claimed on social media. Military spokesman Captain David Avraham also confirmed that Hassan Nasrallah had been “killed” after strikes Friday on Beirut.
Earlier, Hezbollah’s leader Hassan Nasrallah was unreachable after Israel’s attacks on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday evening, Reuters cited a source close to Hezbollah.
Hours following the attacks, Hezbollah had not made a statement on Hassan Nasrallah’s fate. A source close to the group told Reuters that Nasrallah was alive and Iran’s media reported he was safe. A senior Iranian security official told Reuters Iran was checking his status.
Earlier, the Israeli army announced on Friday that it targeted the central headquarters of Hezbollah in Beirut, resulting in a series of powerful blasts that leveled multiple compounds and sent thick plumes of smoke into the sky.
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was the target of the strike. However, media reports quoting Hezbollah sources as saying that Hassan Nasrallah was “fine” following a massive Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs while two others were killed and 76 were injured in the attacks.
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The attacks were carried out shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations, saying that Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah would persist, dampening hopes for a ceasefire.
The Israeli military spokesperson also confirmed that the main Hezbollah headquarters was targeted. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati urged the world to “stop” Israel from waging a “genocidal war” against Lebanon, after a huge Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Mikati said that the new Israeli aggression proves that “the Israeli enemy” doesn’t care about all the global efforts and calls for a truce. He urged the international community to stop the “genocidal war that it (Israel) is waging against Lebanon”.
While Netanyahu said to continue war against Hezbollah, the group’s leadership remains defiant, asserting their resolve to supporting Palestine and resisting Israeli aggression. Hussein Fadlallah, a Hezbollah leader, stressed their readiness to fight, saying, “We will not abandon the support of Palestine, and oppressed Gaza.”
