Hezbollah confirms leader Hassan Nasrallah killed in Israeli airstrike

Lebanon’s Hezbollah group confirmed on Saturday that its leader and one of its founders, Hassan Nasrallah , was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut the previous day.

A statement said Nasrallah “has joined his fellow martyrs.” Hezbollah vowed to “continue the holy war against the enemy and in support of Palestine.”

Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah for more than three decades, is by far the most powerful target to be killed by Israel in weeks of intensified fighting with Hezbollah. The Israeli military said it carried out a precise airstrike on Friday while Hezbollah leadership were meeting at their headquarters in Dahiyeh, south of Beirut.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said six people were killed and 91 injured in the strikes, which leveled six apartment buildings. Ali Karki, the commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front, and other commanders were also killed, the Israeli military said.

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an army spokesperson, said the airstrike was based on years of tracking Nasrallah along with “real time information” that made it viable. He declined to say what munitions were used in the strike or provide an estimate on civilian deaths, only saying that Israel takes measures to avoid civilians whenever possible and clears strikes ahead of time with intelligence and legal experts.

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.

“History has proven that the resistance ... whenever its leaders die as martyrs, will be succeeded on the same path by a generation of leaders who are more valiant, stronger and more determined to continue the confrontation,” the Hamas statement said.

It added that “assassinations will only increase the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine in determination and resolve.”

Immediately after the official confirmation from Hezbollah, people starting firing in the air in Beirut and other areas of the country, to mourn Nasrallah’s death. Some were protesting that he was killed because of his support for the war in Gaza.

“Wish it was our kids, not you, Sayyid!” said one woman, using an honorific title for Nasrallah, as she clutched her baby in the western city of Baabda.

Israel vows to keep up attacks on Hezbollah

Israel Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said Saturday that the elimination of Nasrallah was “not the end of our toolbox,” indicating that more strikes were planned.

Israel has vowed to step up pressure on Hezbollah until it halts its attacks that have displaced tens of thousands of Israelis from communities near the Lebanese border. The recent fighting has also displaced more than 200,000 Lebanese in the past week, according to the United Nations.

The military said Saturday it was mobilizing additional reserve soldiers as tensions escalate with Lebanon , activating three battalions of reserve soldiers to serve across the country. It sent two brigades to northern Israel earlier in the week to train for a possible ground invasion.

Shoshani, the army spokesperson, said that Israel has inflicted heavy damage on Hezbollah’s capabilities over the past week by targeting a combination of immediate threats and strategic weapons, such as larger, guided missiles. But he said much of Hezbollah’s arsenal still remains intact and that Israel would continue to target the group. The Israeli military updated guidelines for Israeli citizens, canceling gatherings of more than 1,000 people due to the ongoing threat.

Approximately 60,000 Israelis have been evacuated from their homes along the Lebanese border for almost a year. Earlier this month, Israel’s government said halting Hezbollah’s attacks in the country’s north to allow residents to return to their homes is an official war goal.

Flames rise after an Israeli airstrike in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, Sept. 28, 2024. (Hussein Malla/AP)

Iran, Iraq call for support for Hezbollah

Iranian state television read the announcement from Hezbollah confirming Nasrallah’s death live, but there was no other immediate comment.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a Saturday message said “the resistance movement, heading by Hezbollah, will decide the fate of the region,” in a statement read on state TV.

Iran is the main supporter of Lebanese Hezbollah and other militant groups in the region.

Also on Saturday, Iran’s influential parliamentary committee of national security demanded “strong” response to Israel following a meeting of the committee. State TV also said people staged anti-Israeli rallies in support of Hezbollah in major cities and towns across the country.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani of declared a three-day period of mourning in his country. Sudani came to power with the backing of a coalition of Iran-backed political factions, many of which have armed wings that are allied with Hezbollah.

A year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah

Hezbollah started firing rockets on Israel in support of Gaza on Oct. 8, a day after Hamas militants launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing some 1,200 people and abducting another 250.

Since then, the two sides have been engaged in cross-border strikes that have gradually escalated and displaced tens of thousands of civilians on both sides of the border.

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, with severe injuries to the eyes, face and limbs.

Israel is widely believed to be behind the attack. Israel has also killed several top Hezbollah commanders in Beirut, especially in the past two weeks, in addition to the attack that killed Nasrallah.

A window of opportunity for Israel, Lebanon

Orna Mizrahi, a senior researcher at the Tel Aviv-based think tank Institute for National Security Studies and former intelligence analyst for the Israeli military and prime minister’s office, noted that Nasrallah was sometimes a “voice of reason” interested in engaging Israel in a war of attrition and holding the militant group back from using the full force of their formidable arsenal against Israel.

Nasrallah’s death could prompt some less senior members of Hezbollah to unleash much stronger weapons than have been used in the nearly yearlong exchange of hostilities between Hezbollah and Lebanon, she said.

The biggest question mark right now, though, is how Iran will respond, said Mizrahi.

She added that Nasrallah’s death could provide a window of opportunity, while the organization is significantly weakened, for Lebanon to dilute Hezbollah’s far-reaching influence, especially in the south, that threatens to drag Lebanon into a full-scale war with Israel.

Continuing strikes on both sides of the border

On Saturday morning, the Israeli military carried out more than 140 airstrikes in southern Beirut and eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, including targeting a storage facility for anti-ship missiles in Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh.

Israel said the missiles were stored underground beneath civilian apartment buildings. Hezbollah launched dozens of projectiles across northern and central Israel and deep into the Israel-occupied West Bank, damaging some buildings in the northern town of Safed.

In Beirut’s southern suburbs, smoke rose and the streets were empty after the area was pummeled overnight by heavy Israeli airstrikes.

Shelters set up in the city center for displaced people were overflowing. Many families slept in public squares and beaches or in their cars. On the roads leading to the mountains above the capital, hundreds of people could be seen making an exodus on foot, holding infants and whatever belongings they could carry.

At least 720 people have been killed in Lebanon over the past week by Israeli airstrikes, according to the Health Ministry.

黎巴嫩真主党周六证实，其领导人兼创始人之一哈桑·纳斯鲁拉在前一天以色列对贝鲁特的一次空袭中丧生。

一份声明称，纳斯鲁拉“已与他的烈士同伴们团聚”。真主党誓言“将继续对敌人发动圣战，并支持巴勒斯坦”。

领导真主党三十余年的纳斯鲁拉，无疑是以色列在数周以来与真主党激战中除掉的最重要目标。以色列军方称，周五，真主党领导层在贝鲁特以南的达希耶总部开会时，以色列对其发动了精准空袭。

黎巴嫩卫生部称，空袭造成6人死亡，91人受伤，6栋公寓楼被夷为平地。以色列军方表示，真主党南方阵线指挥官阿里·卡尔基和其他几名指挥官也在空袭中丧生。

以色列陆军发言人纳达夫·肖沙尼中校表示，此次空袭是基于多年来对纳斯鲁拉的追踪以及“实时情报”而采取的行动。他拒绝透露空袭中使用的弹药种类，也未提供平民死亡人数的估计，仅表示以色列会尽可能避免伤及平民，并在空袭前与情报和法律专家进行磋商。

巴勒斯坦武装组织哈马斯发表声明，向其盟友真主党表示慰问。纳斯鲁拉曾多次将向以色列北部发射火箭弹的行为描述为支持哈马斯和加沙地带巴勒斯坦人的“阵线”。

“历史已经证明，抵抗运动……无论其领导人如何牺牲，都会有一代更加勇敢、更加强大、更加坚定的领导人沿着同样的道路继续对抗，”哈马斯在一份声明中说。

声明还补充说，“暗杀只会增强黎巴嫩和巴勒斯坦人民的抵抗决心和毅力。”

真主党官方确认消息后，贝鲁特和黎巴嫩其他地区立即鸣枪示警，悼念纳斯鲁拉之死。一些人抗议称，他因支持加沙战争而被杀害。

“真希望死的是我们的孩子，而不是你，赛义德！”一位妇女在西部城市巴卜达抱着自己的孩子说道，她用尊称称呼纳斯鲁拉。

以色列誓言将继续对真主党发动袭击

以色列总参谋长赫尔齐·哈勒维中将周六表示，除掉纳斯鲁拉“并非我们所有手段的终点”，暗示以色列计划发动更多袭击。

以色列誓言将加大对真主党的施压力度，直至其停止袭击。这些袭击已导致数万名以色列人流离失所，被迫离开黎巴嫩边境附近的社区。据联合国统计，最近的冲突还导致过去一周内超过20万黎巴嫩人流离失所。

军方周六表示，随着与黎巴嫩的紧张局势升级，正在动员更多预备役士兵，并已启用三个营的预备役士兵在全国各地服役。本周早些时候，军方已向以色列北部派遣两个旅，为可能发生的地面入侵进行训练。

以色列军方发言人肖沙尼表示，过去一周，以色列通过打击包括大型制导导弹在内的多种战略武器和直接威胁目标，对真主党的作战能力造成了沉重打击。但他同时指出，真主党的大部分武器库仍然完好无损，以色列将继续打击该组织。鉴于持续存在的威胁，以色列军方更新了针对以色列公民的指导方针，取消了所有超过1000人的集会。

近一年来，约有6万名以色列人被迫撤离位于黎巴嫩边境沿线的家园。本月初，以色列政府表示，阻止真主党在该国北部发动袭击，使居民能够返回家园，是其官方的战争目标。

2024年9月28日，以色列空袭黎巴嫩贝鲁特南部郊区后，火焰升腾。（侯赛因·马拉/美联社）

伊朗和伊拉克呼吁支持真主党

伊朗国家电视台现场播报了真主党确认纳斯鲁拉死讯的声明，但除此之外，没有其他立即的评论。

伊朗最高领袖阿亚图拉·阿里·哈梅内伊周六发表声明称，“以真主党为首的抵抗运动将决定该地区的命运”，该声明在国家电视台播出。

伊朗是黎巴嫩真主党和该地区其他武装组织的主要支持者。

周六，伊朗颇具影响力的议会国家安全委员会召开会议，要求对以色列采取“强硬”回应。伊朗国家电视台也报道称，全国各地主要城市和城镇爆发了支持真主党的反以色列集会。

伊拉克总理穆罕默德·希亚·苏丹尼宣布全国哀悼三天。苏丹尼是在伊朗支持的政治派别联盟的支持下上台的，其中许多派别拥有与真主党结盟的武装力量。

以色列与真主党之间长达一年的敌对行动

10 月 8 日，真主党开始向以色列发射火箭弹，以声援加沙。此前一天，哈马斯武装分子对以色列发动了前所未有的袭击，造成约 1200 人死亡，另有 250 人被绑架。

此后，双方持续进行跨境袭击，袭击逐渐升级，导致边境两侧数万平民流离失所。

上周，真主党使用的寻呼机和对讲机中藏匿的数千枚炸药爆炸，导致数十人死亡，数千人（包括许多平民）眼睛、面部和四肢严重受伤，敌对行动急剧升级。

人们普遍认为以色列是此次袭击的幕后黑手。除了导致纳斯鲁拉身亡的袭击外，以色列还在过去两周内，在贝鲁特杀害了多名真主党高级指挥官。

以色列和黎巴嫩迎来机遇之窗

特拉维夫智库国家安全研究所高级研究员、以色列军方和总理办公室前情报分析师奥尔娜·米兹拉希指出，纳斯鲁拉有时是“理性的声音”，他希望与以色列进行消耗战，阻止该武装组织对其强大的武器库动用全部力量来对抗以色列。

她表示，纳斯鲁拉之死可能会促使真主党一些级别较低的成员动用比真主党和黎巴嫩之间近一年来交战中使用的武器威力更大的武器。

米兹拉希表示，目前最大的疑问是伊朗将如何应对。

她补充说，纳斯鲁拉之死可能为黎巴嫩提供一个机会，趁着真主党实力大幅削弱之际，黎巴嫩可以削弱真主党广泛的影响力，尤其是在南部地区，这种影响力有可能将黎巴嫩拖入与以色列的全面战争。

边境两侧持续发生罢工

周六上午，以色列军方在贝鲁特南部和黎巴嫩东部的贝卡谷地发动了 140 多次空袭，其中包括对贝鲁特郊区达希耶的一个反舰导弹储存设施的袭击。

以色列方面称，这些导弹被储存在民用公寓楼下的地下。真主党向以色列北部和中部以及以色列占领的约旦河西岸地区发射了数十枚导弹，造成北部城镇萨法德的一些建筑物受损。

贝鲁特南部郊区浓烟滚滚，街道空无一人，此前该地区一夜之间遭到以色列猛烈的空袭。

市中心为流离失所者设立的避难所人满为患。许多家庭只能睡在广场、海滩或车里。在通往首都上方山区的道路上，可以看到数百人抱着婴儿，带着所有能携带的物品，徒步逃离。

据黎巴嫩卫生部称，过去一周，以色列空袭已造成黎巴嫩至少720人死亡。