E-Paper
Israel's army has a ‘simple message’ after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah reported killed in Lebanon
Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group, has yet to comment on Hassan Nasrallah's whereabouts or health since the bombing.
Israel's army chief, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, vowed on Saturday to "reach" anyone who poses a threat to Israeli citizens, following the military’s confirmation that airstrikes in Lebanon's Beirut had killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The attack, which reportedly struck the group's central headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut, represents a major escalation in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
"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," Halevi said in an official statement.
He added that the strike, which killed Nasrallah, had been planned meticulously for some time and executed with precision. "This attack was prepared for a long time, executed at the right moment with great precision, and now we are moving forward with careful preparation for the next steps."
Also Read | Who was Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah chief killed in Israel strike? 5 things to know about him
Big blow for Hezbollah
The killing of Nasrallah, who had led the Iran-backed Hezbollah for over three decades, if confirmed, is a significant blow to the militant group, which has been involved in cross-border skirmishes with Israel since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October.
Nasrallah, 64, has long been a close ally of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and is central to Tehran's strategy of projecting influence in the region through proxy forces.
In a statement posted on X, Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said, “The Israeli military eliminated ... Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Hezbollah terrorist organization.”
Follow LIVE updates on Israeli offensive in Lebanon
Another senior Hezbollah figure, Ali Karaki, was also reportedly killed in the strike, according to Adraee.
Hezbollah has not yet issued an official statement confirming Nasrallah’s death, and Iranian state media has reported conflicting accounts of his status. A senior Iranian security official told Reuters that Tehran was still working to verify whether Nasrallah had been killed. Shortly after the attack, a source close to Hezbollah told Reuters that Nasrallah was alive, although he had not been reachable in the hours following the airstrike.
Since assuming leadership in the early 1990s, Nasrallah transformed Hezbollah from a local militia into a formidable regional force, deeply aligned with Iran's political and military objectives. The group is widely regarded as Iran's most powerful proxy in the Middle East, forming the core of the so-called 'axis of resistance' against Israel and US interests in the region.
Israeli forces have intensified airstrikes against Hezbollah positions in Lebanon over the past week, killing several senior commanders. According to Lebanese officials, more than 600 people have died in Israeli attacks this week, including 50 children. Israel maintains that its military actions are necessary to halt Hezbollah's rocket attacks and to prevent the group from advancing closer to the Israeli border.
With inputs from agencies
