Pressmediaofindia
Related Articles
29-09-2024
BEIRUT/ JERUSALEM/ WASHINGTON: The Lebanese group Hezbollah has confirmed the death of Hassan Nasrallah, its longtime leader, in an air strike on the group’s underground headquarters near the capital, Beirut.
Hours after Israel claimed killing the 64-year-old Nasrallah, the Iran-backed Hezbollah on Saturday said its leader “has joined his fellow martyrs” and pledged it would “continue the holy war against the enemy and in support of Palestine” amid fears that a regional war is now inevitable.
Israel carried out a large strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday evening, which it said targeted the Hezbollah leader, flattening at least six residential buildings.
Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had “settled the score” with Nasrallah’s killing.
“We settled the score with the one responsible for the murder of countless Israelis and many citizens of other countries, including hundreds of Americans and dozens of French,” he said in his first statement since the Hezbollah chief’s killing on Friday.
Hezbollah
The Lebanese group confirmed in a statement its leader had been killed “following the treacherous Zionist strike on the southern suburbs” of Beirut.
It said Nasrallah had “joined his great and immortal martyred comrades, whose path he led for nearly 30 years”.
Hamas
Hamas has condemned the killing of the Lebanese leader as a “cowardly, terrorist act” by Israel.
“We condemn in the strongest terms this barbaric Zionist aggression and targeting of residential buildings,” the group said in a statement, accusing Israel of disregarding “all international values, customs and charters” and “blatantly threaten (ing) international security and peace, in light of silence, helplessness and international neglect”.
United States
US President Joe Biden called the killing of Nasrallah “a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis and Lebanese civilians.”
Biden reiterated US support for “Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and any other Iranian-supported terrorist groups.” His statement said he had directed the defence secretary to “further enhance the defence posture of US military forces” in the region.
Iran
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian issued a statement saying Nasrallah’s killing “will only further strengthen the resistance”. He added the US cannot deny complicity.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared five days of mourning for the Hezbollah chief. He called on all Muslims to rise against Israel and said Nasrallah’s blood “will not go unavenged”.
Iraq
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani condemned the attack as “shameful” and “a crime that shows the Zionist entity has crossed all the red lines”.
In a statement, Sudani called Nasrallah “a martyr on the path of the righteous”, and declared a three-day mourning period.
Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israel’s recent attacks in Lebanon as part of what he called an Israeli policy of “genocide, occupation, and invasion”, urging the UN Security Council and other bodies to stop Israel
Yemen’s Houthis
Yemen’s Houthi rebels said Nasrallah’s killing would strengthen their determination to confront their Israeli foes.
“The martyrdom of… Hassan Nasrallah will increase the flame of sacrifice, the heat of enthusiasm, the strength of resolve,” the rebels’ leadership council said in a statement, pledging to achieve “victory and the demise of the Israeli enemy”.
United Nations
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Saturday he was “gravely concerned” by the “dramatic escalation” seen in Lebanon in the past day as Israel targets Hezbollah in the capital Beirut, a UN spokesperson said.
Germany
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned the situation in Lebanon is extremely dangerous and that the entire region could slip further into an “absolute spiral of violence”.
France
The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it is in contact with the Lebanese authorities and France’s partners in the region to prevent destabilization and conflagration.
Russia
Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has released a statement where it strongly condemns Israel’s killing of Nasrallah and calls on Israel to stop hostilities in Lebanon.
“This forceful action is fraught with even greater dramatic consequences for Lebanon and the entire Middle East,” the statement said. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
