News Brief
Kuldeep Negi
Sep 28, 2024, 04:00 PM | Updated 04:00 PM IST
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The Israeli military announced on Saturday (28 September) that Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, has been killed in an airstrike on Beirut.
"Hassan Nasrallah is dead," Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani announced on X.
The Israeli strikes targeted dozens of Hezbollah sites in eastern and southern Lebanon after intense rocket fire by the group into northern Israel.
Overnight, Israeli jets attacked Hezbollah strongholds in southern Beirut, resulting in the destruction of several residential buildings.
"Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorise the world," the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said in a statement.
"This is not the end of our toolbox. The message is simple, anyone who threatens the citizens of Israel -- we will know how to reach them," Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi said in a statement.
These retaliatory strikes followed Hezbollah's claiming responsibility for launching rockets into northern Israel just hours earlier.
Widely regarded as the sole figure capable of either waging war or brokering peace, Nasrallah wielded significant influence in Lebanon, especially among his Shiite supporters.
Israeli media reports suggested that Zainab, Nasrallah's daughter, was killed in one of the airstrikes aimed at Hezbollah strongholds in southern Beirut. However, there has been no confirmation from Hezbollah or Lebanese media.
Rumours of Nasrallah's death circulated in 2006 during Israel's invasion of Lebanon, but he reappeared unharmed days later.
The recent Israeli strikes also resulted in the deaths of Ali Karake, the commander of Hezbollah's southern front, along with several other Hezbollah members.
"During Hassan Nasrallah's 32-year reign as the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, he was responsible for the murder of many Israeli civilians and soldiers, and the planning and execution of thousands of terrorist activities," an Israeli statement read.
"He was responsible for directing and executing terrorist attacks around the world in which civilians of various nationalities were murdered. Nasrallah was the central decision-maker and the strategic leader of the organisation," the statement added.
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Kuldeep is Senior Editor (Newsroom) at Swarajya. He tweets at @kaydnegi.