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28-09-2024
BEITUR: Hezbollah has confirmed the death of its leader Hassan Nasrallah after Israeli strikes on Beirut.
Nasrallah, who had not been seen in public for years because of fears of being assassinated by Israel, was one of the best known and most influential figures in the Middle East.
Air strikes continue in southern Beirut, journalists seeing thick smoke rising over several locations in Dahieh on Saturday morning.
Elsewhere, the Israeli military says that it is “attacking” targets in the Bekaa Valley after detecting a rocket fired from Lebanon.
On Friday, Lebanese officials said six people were killed and 91 injured in an air strike, with local officials saying that nearly 800 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon since Monday.
Lebanon’s transport ministry has told an Iranian aircraft not to enter its airspace after Israel warned air traffic control in Beirut that it would use “force” if the plane landed, according to Reuters news agency.
The ministry source said it was not clear what was on the plane.
“The priority is people’s lives,” the source added.
For context: This warning comes after the Israeli military said it had killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah. The group has received strong backing from Iran, both financially and militarily, for many years and is allied with Hamas, which is part of Iran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance”.
We’ve just had the first remarks from Iran’s Supreme Leader since Israel said it had killed Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
As a reminder, the Lebanon-based group has received strong backing from Iran, both financially and militarily, for many years.
Published on the official website, Ayatollah Khamenei did not mention Nasrallah at all in his statement.
He began by first condemning the killing of “the defenceless people of Lebanon”, saying that “it proved the short-sightedness and foolish policies of the leaders” of Israel.
Israeli “criminals must know that they are far too small to cause any significant damage on the strongholds of Hezbollah in Lebanon,” Khamenei said adding: “All the Resistance forces in the region support and stand alongside Hezbollah.”
He also urged all Muslims to stand alongside the people of Lebanon and Hezbollah and support them in “confronting the usurping and oppressive regime”.
The Israeli military said it has killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
In a statement, it said he was killed in a “targeted strike” alongside other senior members of the Lebanon-based group including Ali Karaki, the commander of Hezbollah’s southern front.
The IDF says the strike was carried out on the militant group’s central headquarters in Dahieh, a Hezbollah stronghold in southern Beirut.
The news from the Israeli military, that the powerful and long-time Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an air strike in Beirut, is still being digested by this country – and we still haven’t had any official statement from Hezbollah.
This is obviously significant.
Hezbollah, which is considered a terrorist organization by the UK, the US and others, is more than a militia. It is also a political party, with representation in Lebanon’s parliament, and part of the government. It has a significant support base and it is part of the Lebanese society. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
