Israeli military says it has killed Hezbollah chief
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM—The Israeli military said on Saturday it had killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on the group’s central headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut a day earlier.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah has yet to issue any statement on the status of Nasrallah, who has led the group for 32 years.
The Israeli military “eliminated … Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Hezbollah terrorist organization,” Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote in a statement on X.
“Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world,” the Israeli military said in a post on X on Saturday.
Israel launched a new wave of airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs and other areas of Lebanon on Saturday, a day after carrying out the massive attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut known as Dahiyeh, where Hezbollah’s headquarters are located, in an apparent effort to kill Nasrallah.
20 airstrikes
Reuters journalists heard more than 20 airstrikes in Beirut before dawn on Saturday and more after sunrise.
Smoke could be seen rising over Dahiyeh.
Thousands of people have fled the area since Friday’s attack, congregating in squares, parks and sidewalks in downtown Beirut and seaside areas.
“They want to destroy Dahiyeh, they want to destroy all of us,” said Sari, a man in his 30s who gave only his first name, referring to the suburb he had fled after an Israeli evacuation order.
Nearby, the newly displaced in Beirut’s Martyrs Square rolled mats onto the ground to try to sleep.
Not reachable
The Israeli military said a missile fired at central Israel on Saturday had struck an open area.
Earlier, the military said about 10 projectiles had crossed from Lebanon into Israeli territory and that some had been intercepted.
The Israeli military also said it was striking Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa Valley, a region of eastern Lebanon at the Syrian border that it has pounded over the last week.
Israel’s five hours of continuous strikes on Beirut early on Saturday followed Friday’s attack, by far the most powerful by Israel on the city during the conflict with Hezbollah that has played out in parallel to the Gaza war for nearly a year.
The escalation has sharply increased fears the conflict could spiral out of control, potentially drawing in Iran, Hezbollah’s principal backer, as well as the United States.
There was no immediate confirmation of Nasrallah’s fate after Friday’s heavy strikes, but a source close to Hezbollah told Reuters he was not reachable.
