Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon on Friday. His death could spark a wider conflict as Israel considers ground operations in Lebanon. A US official confirmed to ABC that Israel has launched, or may soon launch, a small operation in Lebanon.
The Israel Defense Forces announced Saturday morning that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed after an airstrike in Lebanon.
Hezbollah confirmed Nasrallah’s death in a statement released late Saturday afternoon. The Lebanese group vowed to “continue the jihad to confront the enemy, support Gaza and Palestine, and defend Lebanon.”
President Joe Biden said Nasrallah and Hezbollah were “responsible for killing hundreds of Americans during their 40-year reign of terror.”
“His death in an Israeli airstrike is a measure of justice for the many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians,” Biden said in a statement Saturday.
Nasrallah led the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon for more than 30 years and is credited with expanding the group’s military capabilities and stockpile of rockets and missiles.
His killing is a significant development in the regional conflict and could lead to a wider Middle East war. Israel had deployed reserve forces to the Lebanese border earlier this week.
U.S. officials have confirmed to ABC News that Israeli forces may conduct, or may soon conduct, small-scale operations into Lebanon to seize Hezbollah positions along the border. Ta. Israel has not yet decided whether to launch a full-scale ground operation against its northern neighbor, but is preparing for that possibility, officials told ABC.
CNN reported, citing senior government officials and U.S. officials, that such operations would be limited in scope. Israel’s goal is to return some 60,000 Israeli residents to their homes near the northern border, the newspaper reported.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told CNN that now is a “huge opportunity” for Israel to “eliminate this entire threat” from Hezbollah and urge the Lebanese people to “take back their homeland” from the Iranian-backed extremist group. ” he called out.
Following the airstrike that killed Nasrallah, Iran’s ambassador to the UN called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to deal with what he called Israel’s “terrorist invasion” in Lebanon, NBC reported.
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Air raid sirens blared across central Israel on Saturday evening local time as Israel braced for possible retaliatory attacks from various regional factions allied with Hezbollah and Iran. The IDF announced on Saturday that it had intercepted a missile fired by the Houthis in Yemen.
Israeli airstrikes on Friday destroyed several high-rise apartment buildings in the residential area of Haret Lake, south of Beirut. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said the initial death toll put six people dead and 91 injured in the explosion. That number is expected to increase further.
Smoke rises above destroyed buildings in Beirut after the Israeli military attack on September 27. Photo by Ahmad Laila/Anadolu, via Getty Images
Television footage from Beirut Saturday morning showed smoke billowing from damaged buildings.
Israel has increasingly targeted Hezbollah leaders and operatives in recent weeks, resulting in hundreds of deaths.
On Sunday, the Israel Defense Forces announced on X that Nabil Kauk, commander of Hezbollah’s Preventive Security Forces and member of the organization’s executive council, was also killed in an Israeli airstrike.
The Israel Defense Forces said Kauk was “close to Hezbollah’s senior commanders” and was “considered an important source of expertise in his field.”
Members of Hezbollah were also targeted in covert operations involving the explosion of electronic communications equipment. This sophisticated attack is believed to have been carried out by Israel, but Israel has not claimed responsibility.
Tensions between the two countries have been high since October 8, the day after Hamas attacked Israel. Hezbollah fired projectiles at Israel, saying it was a show of solidarity with Hamas and the conflict-affected Palestinians.
Biden said in a White House statement that he had told his secretary of defense to “further strengthen the defense posture of the U.S. military” in the region as a deterrent measure, but that his ultimate goal was to “further strengthen U.S. military defense posture” in the region as a deterrent measure. “calming down the conflict.” ”
Israel warns of difficult days ahead
The Israel Defense Forces said the attack that killed Nasrallah and several other senior officials on Friday was part of a precision strike by the Israeli Air Force against Hezbollah’s central headquarters in the basement of a residential building.
In a televised news conference on Saturday, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said Israel was on the highest alert and warned of difficult days ahead.
“Israel does not want further escalation,” Hagari said, adding that the military wants hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip to return home and to ensure border security.
The Israeli government has ordered its citizens not to hold large gatherings of more than 1,000 people in the central region of the country starting today due to concerns about retaliation.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, photographed on January 17, 2020. Khamenei’s official website/handout via Reuters
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei condemned the attack on Lebanon and expressed solidarity with Hezbollah in a series of posts on X.
A post on Khamenei’s account said: “Lebanon will make its malicious enemies who violated it regret their actions.”
Iran is a close ally of Hezbollah and has provided funding to the group for decades. Iran’s state news agency reported on Saturday that Iranian Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan was also killed in the Israeli attack that killed Nasrallah.
A Pentagon spokesman said Friday that he had received no advance warning of Israeli operations in the Lebanese capital this weekend. The United States and its allies, including Britain, France and Germany, issued a joint statement earlier this week calling for an immediate 21-day ceasefire on the Lebanon-Israel border.
Hezbollah is a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization with 40,000 to 50,000 fighters, according to the Congressional Research Service. The group also has close ties to the Syrian government and Yemen’s Houthi militants.
This is breaking news. Please check back for future updates.
