Hezbollah chief Nasrallah killed in Israeli air strike

Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah gestures as he addresses his supporters during a rare public appearance at an Ashura ceremony in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Lebanon on October 23, 2015. File Photo: REUTERS

Israel killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in a powerful air strike in Beirut, dealing a heavy blow to the Iran-backed group as it reels from an escalating campaign of Israeli attacks.

The Israeli military said Saturday it had eliminated Nasrallah in the strike on the group’s central command headquarters in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday. Hezbollah confirmed he had been killed, without saying how.

Nasrallah’s death is a major blow to both Hezbollah and Iran, removing an influential ally who helped build Hezbollah into the linchpin of Tehran’s network of allied groups in the Arab world.

US President Joe Biden described Nasrallah’s death as a measure of justice for what he called the Hezbollah chief’s many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis and Lebanese.

A senior member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, deputy commander Abbas Nilforoushan, was also killed in the Israeli attacks in Beirut on Friday, Iranian media reported.

Strikes continued on Beirut’s southern suburbs throughout the early evening Saturday, sending large clouds of smoke over the city.

The Israeli military said that in a strike on southern Beirut it killed a senior member of Hezbollah’s intelligence, naming him as Hassan Khalil Yassin. Hezbollah made no mention so far of this.

In Israel, air raid sirens sounded across the centre of the country — including Tel Aviv — and large bangs were heard after a missile was fired from Yemen and intercepted, according to the Israeli military.

Hezbollah said in a statement that it would continue its battle against Israel “in support of Gaza and Palestine, and in defence of Lebanon and its steadfast and honourable people”.

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said his country was facing the threat of danger, without mentioning the death of Nasrallah. His office later announced three days of mourning for the Hezbollah chief.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Nasrallah’s killing would be avenged and his path in fighting Israel would be continued by other militants.