Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has been killed, the Iran-backed group said on Saturday, confirming his death after the Israeli military said it had "eliminated" him in an airstrike in Beirut the day before. Hezbollah has vowed to continue the fight against Israel.
A statement by Lebanon's Hezbollah group on Saturday said Nasrallah “has joined his fellow martyrs,” and vowed to “continue the holy war against the enemy and in support of Palestine".
One of the best known and most influential figures in the Middle East, Nasrallah had led Hezbollah for more than three decades but had not been seen in public for many years due to fears Israel would assassinate him.
His death marks a major blow to Hezbollah as it faces an escalating campaign of Israeli attacks.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Daniel Hagari said in a statement earlier on Saturday that Nasrallah was killed in a "precise" attack carried out by Israel's air force on Friday in Beirut, describing the leader as "one of the greatest enemies of the State of Israel of all time".
Ali Karki, the commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front and other commanders were also killed, the Israeli military said, describing them as "legitimate military targets under international law".
Israel’s Chief of Staff said that the elimination of Nasrallah was “not the end of our toolbox,” indicating that more strikes were planned.
The Lebanese Health Ministry said six people were killed and 91 injured in the strikes, which levelled six apartment buildings.
France's foreign ministry said it was in contact with the Lebanese authorities and France's partners in the region to prevent any escalation.
"The security and protection of civilians must be guaranteed, including that of French people in the region, which is also our priority," it added.
Hezbollah's Nasrallah: the most powerful man in Lebanon
Regional outrage
The Palestinian militant group Hamas in a statement issued condolences to its ally, Hezbollah. Nasrallah frequently described launching rockets against northern Israel as a “support front” for Hamas and Palestinians in Gaza.
It added that “assassinations will only increase the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine in determination and resolve".
Iran, the main supporter of Lebanese Hezbollah and other militant groups in the region, confirmed Nasrallah's death on state television.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called on Muslims to help fight Israel, saying Lebanon's Hezbollah would play a major role in deciding "the fate of the region”, state media reported him as saying.
Reuters news agency reported that Khamenei has been transferred to a secure location in Iran under heightened security, according to regional officials.
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who came to power with the backing of Iran-backed political factions, declared a three-day period of mourning in his country.
Support for Gaza
Hezbollah began firing rockets on Israel in support of Gaza on 8 October, a day after Hamas militants launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing some 1,200 people and abducting another 250.
The Israel-Hamas conflict has since killed more than 40,000 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to the Hamas Health Ministry.
Since 8 October, Israel and Hezbollah have been engaged in cross-border strikes that have gradually escalated and displaced tens of thousands of civilians on both sides of the border.
France calls for emergency UN meeting amid Middle East crisis as Israeli strikes continue
Hostilities escalated dramatically last week when thousands of explosives hidden in pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah detonated, killing dozens of people and leaving thousands, including many civilians, severely injured.
Israel is widely believed to be behind the attack.
Israel has also killed several top Hezbollah commanders in Beirut in recent weeks.
A total of 1,030 people – including 156 women and 87 children – have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon in less than two weeks, the country’s health minister said Saturday.
(with newswires)
