The Israeli military said on Saturday it had killed the overall leader of the Iran-backed group Hezbollah in an airstrike the previous day on the group’s ‘central headquarters’ in Beirut, Lebanon. The Friday afternoon strike was the last in a series of huge explosions They are targeting leaders of the militant group, which has been firing rockets and drones across Lebanon’s southern border into Israel for almost a year.
The Israeli military said in a statement on Saturday that Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah for more than 30 years, “was eliminated by the IDF, along with Ali Karki, the commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front, and additional Hezbollah commanders” in an attack of Israeli soldiers. fighter jets at the group’s command facility “embedded beneath a residential building” in Beirut’s southern suburbs, which has long been a stronghold of the US-designated terrorist group.
“The attack was carried out while Hezbollah’s senior command structure was operating from its headquarters and promoting terrorist activities against the citizens of the State of Israel,” the IDF said.
An Israeli military official said real-time information about an operational capability allowed them to carry out the attack.
Aziz Taher / REUTERS
Friday’s strikes leveled several high-rise apartment buildings in the largest explosions to hit the Lebanese capital since Hezbollah began shooting at Israel on October 8, 2023, in response to Israel launching its war against Hamas allies of the group in the Gaza Strip.
At least six people were killed and 91 injured in the attack, Lebanon’s health ministry said on Friday, noting that the toll could rise as people at the site were believed to be buried under rubble.
A senior Israeli official said on Friday that the IDF had tried to minimize civilian casualties by striking during the day, when many people would be away from home. He said Israel was not seeking a broader regional war, but that Hezbollah’s military capabilities had been significantly compromised by the recent series of Israeli military operations and that the aim of the attack was to leave Hezbollah with a significant leadership gap.
Mohamed Azakir / REUTERS
In a possible early sign of the strikes’ significance, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly cut short a visit to the United States to return home on Friday rather than wait until the end of the Sabbath on Saturday evening, his office said. Israeli politicians do not normally travel on the Sabbath, except on matters of great importance.
Hours earlier, Netanyahu addressed the UN and promised that Israel would do the same campaign against Hezbollah would continue – further diminishing hopes for an internationally supported ceasefire. Several deputies stood up and walked out before he gave his address.
To a degree not seen in previous conflicts, Israel has sought to eliminate Hezbollah’s senior leadership over the past week. Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said the attacks targeted Hezbollah’s main headquarters, located beneath residential buildings. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s office said he huddled with the head of the Israeli air force and other top commanders at military headquarters following updates.
In a separate statement Saturday, Israeli Army Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said Nasrallah’s killing shows that “anyone who threatens the citizens of Israel, we will know how to reach them.”
The series of massive explosions around nightfall on Friday left six buildings in the Haret Hreik neighborhood on the outskirts of Dahiyeh in ruins, according to the Lebanese National News Agency. The shock wave rattled windows and shook houses about 20 miles (30 kilometers) north of Beirut. TV footage showed several craters – one with a car inside – amid collapsed buildings in the densely populated, predominantly Shiite district.
Social media image / via REUTERS
Nasrallah had been in hiding for years and very rarely appeared in public. He regularly gave speeches, but always via video from unknown locations. The site hit Friday evening was not publicly known as Hezbollah’s headquarters, although it is in the group’s “security district,” a heavily guarded part of Haret Hreik, where it has offices and runs several nearby hospitals.
The Pentagon said the US had no advance warning of the attacks.
The White House said President Biden was briefed “multiple times” by his national security team on Friday and “directed the Pentagon to assess and, as necessary, adjust U.S. forces in the region to enhance deterrence, protect troops guarantee and support the full range’. of U.S. objectives, he also directed his team to ensure that U.S. embassies in the region take all appropriate protective measures.
“The events of the past week and the past few hours underscore what a precarious moment this is for the Middle East and for the world,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a news conference in New York on Friday. “Israel has the right to defend itself against terrorism. The way it does that matters. The choices all parties make in the coming days will determine the path this region follows, with profound consequences for its population now and possibly for years to come.” .”
Israel dramatically has intensified its airstrikes on Lebanon This week he said it was determined to put an end to Hezbollah’s more than 11-month shelling of its territory. The scope of the Israeli operation remains unclear, but officials have said a ground invasion to drive the militant group from the border is a possibility. Israel has moved thousands of troops to the border in preparation.
More than 720 people, including dozens of women and children, have been killed in this week’s Israeli attacks in Lebanon, according to Health Ministry statistics.
A pre-dawn strike in the predominantly Sunni border town of Chebaa struck a house on Friday, killing nine members of the same family, the state news agency said. A resident identified the dead as Hussein Zahra, his wife Ratiba, their five children and two of their grandchildren.
At the UN, Netanyahu vowed to “continue to humiliate Hezbollah” until Israel achieves its goals. His comments dampened hopes for a US-backed call for a 21-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah to allow time for a diplomatic solution. Hezbollah has not responded to the proposal.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah, the strongest force in Lebanon, began firing rockets into Israel almost immediately after Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, with terrorists killing about 1,200 people in Israel and taking 251 hostage. Since then, Hezbollah and the Israeli army have exchanged fire almost daily, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes on both sides of the border.
An Israeli security official said he expects a possible war against Hezbollah will not last as long as the current war in Gaza because the Israeli army’s objectives are much more limited.
In GazaIsrael aims to dismantle Hamas’ military and political regime, but the goal in Lebanon is to push Hezbollah away from the border with Israel – “not a high bar like Gaza” in terms of operational objectives, said the official, who spoke about the border with Israel. condition of anonymity due to military briefing guidelines.
Haley Ott and Tucker Reals contributed to this report.
