Israel says Hezbollah chief is dead: “Will no longer terrorise the world”

NEW DELHI: Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an attack on Beirut, the Israeli military said today. A source close to Hezbollah told news agency AFP that contact with 64-year-old Nasrallah had been lost since Friday night.

“Hassan Nasrallah is dead,” military spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani announced on X.

The Israeli strikes hit dozens of Hezbollah targets in eastern and southern Lebanon after the group launched intense rocket fire into northern Israel. Israeli jets bombed Hezbollah strongholds in southern Beirut overnight, demolishing several residential buildings.

“Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorise the world,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

“This is not the end of our toolbox. The message is simple, whoever threatens the citizens of Israel – we know how to reach them,” Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said in a statement.

This wave of retaliatory strikes came just hours after Hezbollah claimed responsibility for launching rockets into northern Israel. One such attack targeted Kibbutz Kabri using a Fadi-1 rocket, which Hezbollah said was to defend Lebanon against Israeli “barbaric” aggression.

Nasrallah, who wields immense power in Lebanon, particularly among his Shiite supporters, is widely seen as the only man capable of waging war or establishing peace.

Nasrallah’s daughter Zainab, 64, was killed in one of the air strikes targeting Hezbollah strongholds in southern Beirut, Israel’s Channel 12 reported, although there has been no confirmation from Hezbollah or the Lebanese media.

Nasrallah was rumoured to have been killed in 2006 after Israel’s invasion of Lebanon. However, the Shia leader reappeared a few days later without injury. Ali Qaraqe, commander of Hezbollah’s southern front, and other Hezbollah members were also killed in Israeli attacks.

“During Hassan Nasrallah’s 32-year reign as Secretary General of Hezbollah, he was responsible for the murder of numerous Israeli civilians and soldiers and for planning and carrying out thousands of terrorist acts,” an Israeli statement said. “He was responsible for directing and carrying out terrorist attacks around the world, killing civilians of various nationalities. Nasrallah was the central decision-maker and strategic leader of the organization.”

Air raid sirens sounded across northern Israel, signaling an imminent threat from rockets launched across the Lebanese border. According to Israeli military reports, two surface-to-surface missiles were fired from Lebanon, one of which fell in an open area, while the other was intercepted.

The Lebanese Health Ministry ordered the evacuation of hospitals in Beirut’s southern suburbs in preparation for the situation ahead. The ministry urged unoccupied hospitals to stop admitting non-emergency patients, to make room for patients being transferred from conflict-affected areas. Israeli bombing of Lebanon has killed more than 700 people and displaced about 118,000.