Nasrallah killing in Lebanon updates: Netanyahu says Hezbollah chief’s killing was essential for Israel to achieve its war goals

As word of Hassan Nasrallah’s death filtered out on the streets of Beirut, supporters who had been forced to flee Hezbollah’s stronghold in the Lebanese capital refused to believe the news. “They are lying,” said one woman on the back of a motorbike. “Sayyed is well,” she said, referring to the Hezbollah leader, who enjoyed cult status among supporters in the southern suburbs of Beirut where he was killed in a huge Israeli strike on Friday.- AFP

Syria on Saturday condemned Israel’s killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, one of Damascus’s key supporters in years of civil war, and declared public mourning. A foreign ministry statement carried by state news agency SANA said that the late Friday air strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs that killed Nasrallah was a “despicable aggression”. “The Zionist entity (Israel) confirms through this despicable aggression, once again... its barbarism and wanton disregard for all international standards and laws,” it said.- AFP

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says assassinating Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah became an “essential condition” for Israel to achieve its war goals.

In his first public remarks since the killing, Netanyahu said that the killings of other top Hezbollah commanders was not enough and he decided Nasrallah also needed to be killed. He blamed Nasrallah for being “the architect” of a plan to “annihilate” Israel.- AP

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he had spoken with Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Saturday, following an Israeli airstrike on Beirut which killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

“We agreed on the need for an immediate ceasefire to bring an end to the bloodshed. A diplomatic solution is the only way to restore security and stability for the Lebanese and Israeli people,” Lammy said.- Reuters

France called on Saturday for an immediate end to Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon, also saying that it was opposed to any Israeli ground operation in Lebanon. 

In a statement following a call with Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot also called on Hezbollah and Iran to refrain from any action that could destabilise the region further.

- Reuters

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Saturday that his country was facing the threat of danger, after an Israeli airstrike the previous day killed the head of Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Mr. Mikati was speaking at an emergency cabinet meeting that he convened upon returning from the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Mr. Mikati did not mention Mr. Nasrallah in his address, but his office later published a decision to hold three days of national mourning for Mr. Nasrallah. 

- Reuters

U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday called Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah “a measure of justice” for his many victims, and said the United States fully supported Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran-supported groups.

Mr. Biden said he had directed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to further enhance the defense posture of U.S. military forces in the Middle East to deter aggression and reduce the risk of a broader war.

Ultimately, he said, the U.S. aimed to de-escalate ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon through diplomatic means. He did not address a comment from Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saying Nasrallah’s death would be avenged.

- Reuters

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Saturday warned the West of the danger of trying to “fight to victory with a nuclear power,” describing the involvement of other foreign powers in Ukraine as a “suicidal escapade.”

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Mr. Lavrov also said Russia was concerned by the Israeli strike in Beirut that killed Hezbollah’s leader, saying that such “political killings” had become commonplace.

- AP

Germany is continuing efforts to enable a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told broadcaster ARD on Saturday, adding the situation in the region was “extremely dangerous”.

“There is a threat that this entire region will slip further into an absolute spiral of violence,” Ms. Baerbock was quoted as saying.

- Reuters

President Joe Biden on Saturday called the Israeli strike that killed Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah a “measure of justice” for his four-decade reign of terror.

Mr. Biden noted that the operation to take out Nasrallah took place in the broader context of the conflict that began with Hamas’ massacre of Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023.

“Nasrallah, the next day, made the fateful decision to join hands with Hamas and open what he called a ‘northern front’ against Israel,” Mr. Biden said in a statement.

He also noted that Hezbollah, under Mr. Nasrallah’s watch, has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans.

- AP

Anti-Israel protests broke out in several parts here on Saturday against the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon.

“A large number of people, including children, carrying black flags, poured out on roads in Hassanabad, Rainawari, Saidakadal, Meer Behri, and Ashaibagh areas of the city,” officials said.

The protestors chanted anti-Israel and anti-US slogans and denounced the killing of the top leader of the Lebanon-based militant group. “The protests remained peaceful. Possessing police deployed in the areas ensured that the demonstrations did not turn violent,” officials said.

Long traffic jams were reported from several parts of the city, including the Khanyar-Hazratbal axis, where most of the protests took place.

Lok Sabha member from Srinagar Aga Ruhullah, who was canvassing for National Conference candidates, suspended his campaign. PDP president Mehbooba Mufti also suspended her next day’s election campaign.

“Cancelling my campaign tomorrow in solidarity with the martyrs of Lebanon & Gaza especially Hassan Nasarullah. We stand with the people of Palestine & Lebanon in this hour of immense grief & exemplary resistance,” Ms. Mufti posted on X.

- PTI

“Iran’s Khamenei announces five days of mourning over death of Hezbollah leader Nasrallah,” said the State media on Saturday (September 28, 2024).

- Reuters

“Palestinian President Abbas offers condolences to Lebanon and Hezbollah after killing of Nasrallah,” says official Palestinian news agency.

- Reuters

The United States is determined to prevent Iran and Iran-backed groups from exploiting the situation in Lebanon or expanding the conflict, U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin told Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant in calls on Friday.

Mr. Austin expressed full U.S. support for Israel’s right to defend itself and “made it clear that the United States remains postured to protect U.S. forces and facilities in the region and committed to the defense of Israel,” Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said in a statement on Saturday.

- Reuters

“Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has arrived in israel, will hold security consultations later on saturday (September 28, 2024),” said an Israeli official.

- Reuters

Israel’s military said sirens rang out Saturday in central areas of the country as a missile fired from Yemen was intercepted, with AFP journalists reporting hearing explosions over Jerusalem.

“A short while ago, sirens were sounded in central Israel as a result of a missile launched from Yemen toward Israeli territory,” a military statement said, later announcing that air defences intercepted it.

- AFP

Russia strongly condemns Israel’s killing of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the Foreign Ministry said on Saturday, calling 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 Ministry said in a statement.

- Reuters

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Saturday that slain Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah “deserved” to die and that the Israeli air raid on Beirut that killed him was justified.

“The elimination of arch-terrorist Nasrallah is one of the most justified counter-terrorism actions Israel has ever taken,” Katz said in a post on X, adding that the Lebanese militant leader “deserved to be taken down, and it’s a good thing he was”.

- AFP

Lebanon’s Health Minister says 1,030 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon in less than two weeks, more than in the previous 11 months.

Health Minister Firass Abiad says the toll includes 156 women and 87 children.

A total of 1,640 people in Lebanon have died since Hezbollah began firing rockets over the border into Israel in support of its ally, Hamas, the day after Hamas’ deadly raid into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

The Health Ministry counted 11 people killed and 108 wounded on Friday (September 27, 2024), but said the true toll may be higher.

- AP

Iran leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on muslims on Saturday “to stand by the people of Lebanon and the proud Hezbollah with whatever means they have and assist them in confronting the ... wicked regime (of Israel)“.

Mr. Khamenei, in a statement after the Israeli army said it had killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, said: “The fate of this region will be determined by the forces of resistance, with Hezbollah at the forefront”, state media reported. 

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani vowed in a post on X that Mr. Nasrallah’s “path will be continued and his holy goal will be realised in the liberation of Jerusalem”.

Meanwhile, two regional officials briefed by Tehran told Reuters that Khamenei has been transferred to a secure location inside the country with heightened security measures in place.

- Reuters

Hezbollah launches new rocket attack on israel after announcing death of leader on Saturday (September 28, 2024).

- Reuters

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday condemned Israel’s recent attacks in Lebanon as part of what he called an Israeli policy of “genocide, occupation, and invasion”, urging the U.N. Security Council and other bodies to stop Israel.

In a post on X without naming Mr. Nasrallah, Mr. Erdogan said that Turkey stood with the Lebanese people and government, offering his condolences for those killed in the Israeli strikes, while saying the Muslim world should show a more “determined” stance.

- Reuters

Israel’s military updated guidelines for residents on Saturday that prohibit large gatherings, demonstrations, and sports events in central Israel due to concerns of a counterattack after Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

School remains canceled in northern Israel for some 6,00,000 students.

Israeli army spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said Israel expects “challenging days ahead” as the country braces for a response. Mr. Hagari said at a media briefing that Mr. Nasrallah “posed a threat to Israeli citizens for decades, and his elimination makes the world a safer place.”

- AP

Iran announced that a prominent general in its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard sanctioned by the U.S. died in an airstrike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut.

Abbas Nilforushan (58) was killed Friday in Lebanon, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported.

The U.S. Treasury had identified Nilforushan as the deputy commander for operations in the Guard. It sanctioned him in 2022 and said he had led an organisation “directly in charge of protest suppression, which has played a critical role in arresting protest leaders during previous protests.” Those sanctions came amid the monthslong protests over the death of Mahsa Amini after her arrest for allegedly not wearing her headscarf, or hijab, to the liking of police.

Mr. Nilforushan also served in Syria backing President Bashar Assad in his country’s decades-long war that grew out of the 2011 Arab Spring that swept the wider Middle East. He served in the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s like many of his colleagues.

- AP

The Houthi movement in Yemen on Saturday mourned the death of Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, its ally in an Iran-backed alliance opposing Israel, in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut.

“The resistance will not be broken, and the Jihadist spirit of the Mujahideen brothers in Lebanon and on all fronts of support will grow stronger and bigger,” the group said in a statement.

Both Hezbollah and the Houthis are part of the Axis of Resistance, an alliance built up over years of Iranian support against Israel and U.S. influence in the Middle East.

The Houthis have launched repeated drone and missile strikes on ships they say are affiliated to Israel, in the crucial shipping channels of the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Gulf of Aden since November to show their support for Palestinians in the Gaza war.

- Reuters

The killing of ​Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in airstrikes in a Beirut suburb​ has put the spotlight on the man widely regarded as his heir, Hashem Safieddine. The Iran-backed group confirmed that Nasrallah, who led the group for 32 years, had been killed in Friday’s strike. It now faces the challenge of choosing a new leader after the heaviest pounding the group has faced in its 42-year-old history.

Read more facts about Mr. Safieddine below

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Who is Hashem Safieddine, Hezbollah’s possible new leader?

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's death puts spotlight on potential successor Hashem Safieddine, a cleric and political figure.

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani condemned on Saturday the Israeli killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah as a “crime”.

The Friday attack on Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold that killed the Iran-backed group’s leader was a “shameful attack” and “a crime that shows the Zionist entity has crossed all the red lines”, Mr. Sudani said in a statement, calling Nasrallah “a martyr on the path of the righteous”.

- AFP

Iran Revolutionary Guards’ deputy commander Abbas Nilforoushan was killed in the Israeli strikes on Beirut on Friday, Iranian media reported on Saturday.

- Reuters

Israel’s war is not with the Lebanese people, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Saturday after confirmation Hezbollah leader Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had been killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut.

“He (Nasrallah) was the murderer of thousands of Israelis and foreign citizens. He was an immediate threat to the lives of thousands of Israelis and other citizens,” Mr. Gallant said in a statement. “To the people of Lebanon, I say: Our war is not with you. It’s time for change.”

- Reuters

The Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut, where the group’s leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli strike, was a legitimate military target under international law, the Israeli military spokesperson said on Saturday.

Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari also said that Israel had issued stricter guidelines to civilians by limiting the size of gatherings in areas of central Israel to 1,000 people.

- Reuters

“Crimes and assassination by the occupation will only increase the determination and the insistence of the resistance in Palestine and Lebanon to go forward with all their might, bravery and pride on the footsteps of the martyrs...and pursue the path of resistance until victory and the dismissal of the occupation,” Hamas said in a statement.

His death marks a heavy blow to Hezbollah as it reels from an escalating campaign of Israeli attacks. It is also a huge blow to Iran, given the major role he has played in the Tehran-backed regional “Axis of Resistance.”

The ‘Axis of Resistance’ refers to groups, including Hezbollah, that are backed by Iran and have been waging attacks on Israel since war erupted between their ally Hamas and Israel on October 7, 2023.

“We reaffirm our absolute solidarity and standing with the brothers in Hezbollah and the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon, who are taking part in the battle of the Al-Aqsa Flood to defend Al-Aqsa mosque, alongside our people and our resistance,” Hamas added.

- Reuters

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday the path of Hezbollah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah will continue despite his killing in an Israeli air strike after a year of cross-border clashes between the two sides.

“The glorious path of the leader of the resistance, Hassan Nasrallah, will continue and his sacred goal will be realised in the liberation of Quds (Jerusalem), God willing,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani in a post on social media X mourning his death.

- AFP

Hamas on Saturday (September 28, 2024) condemned the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah after the Lebanon-based group confirmed his death in an Israeli strike on south Beirut a day earlier.

“We condemn in the strongest terms this barbaric Zionist aggression and targeting of residential buildings... and we consider it a cowardly terrorist act,” the group said in a statement, offering “condolences, and solidarity with the brothers in Hezbollah and the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon on the martyrdom of... Nasrallah”.

Read the full story below

Hassan Nasrallah killed: Hamas says ‘assassination’ will only strengthen resistance; Iran says Hezbollah leader’s ‘path to continue’

Hamas vows to continue resistance against Israel after Hezbollah leader's assassination, sparking regional tensions and mourning.

Palestinian group Hamas said in a statement it mourned the death of Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, announced by Hezbollah on Saturday (September 28, 2024).

- Reuters

Lebanon’s Hezbollah group confirmed on Saturday (September 28, 2024) that its leader and one of its founders, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut the previous day.

A statement Saturday (September 28, 2024) said Nasrallah “has joined his fellow martyrs.” Hezbollah vowed to “continue the holy war against the enemy and in support of Palestine.”

Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah for more than three decades, is by far the most powerful target to be killed by Israel in weeks of intensified fighting with Hezbollah. The Israeli military said it carried out a precise airstrike on Friday (September 28, 2024) while Hezbollah leadership met at their headquarters in Dahiyeh, south of Beirut.

Read the full story below

Hezbollah confirms its leader Hassan Nasrallah killed in Israeli airstrike

Hezbollah confirms its leader Hassan Nasrallah killed in Israeli airstrike, escalating tensions and violence in Lebanon and Israel.

A new Israeli strike hits a building in Hezbollah’s south Beirut bastion, a Lebanese security official says.

“A new Israeli strike targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs,” the official adds, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, adding it hit “a building”. 

-AFP

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calls on Muslims “to stand by the people of Lebanon and the proud Hezbollah with whatever means they have and assist them in confronting the ... wicked regime (of Israel)“.

Mr. Khamenei, in a statement after the Israeli army said it had killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, says, “The fate of this region will be determined by the forces of resistance, with Hezbollah at the forefront”. 

-Reuters

Iran supreme leader Ali Khamenei condemns ‘short-sighted’ Israeli policy after Lebanon strikes. 

“The massacre of the defenceless people in Lebanon once again revealed the ferocity of the Zionist rabid dog to everyone, and proved the short-sighted and stupid policy of the leaders of the usurping regime,” he adds in a statement, without mentioning Nasrallah’s killing reports which have not been confirmed by the group.

-AFP

Lebanon’s Transport Ministry informs an Iranian aircraft not to enter its airspace after Israel warned air traffic control at Beirut airport that it would use “force” if the plane landed, a source at the ministry claims. 

The source says it was not clear what was on the plane. “The priority is people’s lives,” the source adds. 

-Reuters

Israel’s military says the fight against Hezbollah is not over after it announced the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, the head of the group, which has yet to confirm his death. 

Military Spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshan says, “There’s still a way to go. Hezbollah still has rockets and missiles and has the capability of shooting many of them simultaneously,” 

He also adds that the Iran-backed group was believed to have “tens of thousands of rockets”.

-AFP

Israel is on high alert for a broader conflict after the elimination of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut.

“We hope this will change Hezbollah’s actions,” says Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani 

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Hezbollah says it has targeted Israeli sites including Rosh Pina in the north with missiles in response to Israeli attacks on Lebanese cities, villages and civilians.

-Reuters

Two regional officials claim that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been transferred to a secure location inside the country with heightened security measures in place. 

The source claims that Iran is in constant contact with Lebanon’s Hezbollah and other regional proxy groups to determine the next step after Israel announced that it had killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. 

- Reuters

Israeli military spokesperson says Nasrallah terrorized Israel for decades, was one of the world’s most influential terrorists

-Reuters

Israel’s army chief vowed on Saturday (September 28, 2024) to “reach” anyone who threats Israeli citizens, after the military said strikes in Beirut the previous day had killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.

“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.

Hezbollah is yet to confirm Nasrallah’s death but a source closed to Hezbollah says they were unable to contact him from Friday (September 27, 2024) when Israel started pounding Beirut with airstrikes.- AFP

A source close to Lebanon’s Hezbollah group said on Saturday (September 28, 2024) that contact had been lost since last evening with chief Hassan Nasrallah, after Israel said it had “eliminated” him in a strike on the group’s southern Beirut bastion.

“Contact with Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has been lost since Friday evening,” said the source, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. He did not confirm whether Mr. Nasrallah had been killed.- AFP

Israeli forces have killed Lebanon’s Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the military’s Arabic-speaking spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on Saturday (September 28, 2024) a day after an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut. - Reuters

Israel said it was attacking the Iran-backed group’s headquarters and weapons facilities in the Lebanese capital, and Israeli and US media reported Hassan Nasrallah was the target of strikes on Friday night, although a source close to Hezbollah said he was “fine”.

The blasts that rocked southern Beirut on Friday (September 27, 2024) were the fiercest to hit the group’s stronghold since Israel and Hezbollah last went to war in 2006.- AFP

Hezbollah launched more than two dozen projectiles toward Israel Saturday morning, triggering sirens in more than 100 cities and towns across Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

The Israeli military said a surface-to-surface missile was fired from Lebanese territory and fell in an open area in central Israel. Israeli media said the missile fell in the sea.

No injuries or damages were reported, according to Israel’s Fire and Rescue Services.

In Beirut’s southern suburbs, smoke was seen and the streets were empty after the area was heavily attacked overnight by heavy Israeli airstrikes. Shelters set up in the city center for displaced people were overflowing. Many families slept in public squares and beaches or in their cars. 

On the roads leading to the mountains above the capital, hundreds of people could be seen making an exodus on foot, holding infants and whatever belongings they could carry.- AP

Israel’s military said it has mobilised three reserve battalions to bolster its Central Command defence amid escalating conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Earlier on Saturday (September 28, 2024), Israeli army said that a missile from Lebanon was fired at central Israel and fell in an open area. It said no sirens were sounded and added the incident was under review, but gave no other details.- AP

The United Nations said the fighting has displaced 211,000 people, including 85,000 now staying in public schools and other shelters. Airstrikes have forced 20 primary health care centers to shut down and disrupted access to clean water for nearly 300,000 people.

While Israel is pounding Beirut with airstrikes, European, Arab and Islamic nations have launched an initiative to strengthen support for a Palestinian state and its institutions, and prepare for a future after the war in Gaza and escalating conflict in Lebanon, Norway’s foreign minister said on Friday (September 27, 2024).

Espen Barth Eide, Norway’s foreign minister, told The Associated Press, “there is a growing consensus in the international community from Western countries, from Arab countries, from the Global South, that we need to establish a Palestinian Authority, a Palestinian government, a Palestinian state — and the Palestinian state has to be recognized.”- AP

After heavy shelling sounded across the Mediterranean city on Friday (September 27, 2024) Israel issued fresh warnings for people to leave part of the densely populated Dahiyeh suburbs before dawn on Saturday (September 28, 2024).

Hundreds of families spent the night on the streets, seeking shelter in downtown Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square or along the seaside boardwalk area.

Syrian refugee and father of six Radwan Msallam said they had “nowhere to go”.

“We were at home when there was the call to evacuate. We took our identity papers, some belongings and we left,” he told AFP.- AP