ISRAEL said on Saturday that it has eliminated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, dealing its most significant blow to the Lebanese militant group after months of fighting and Hezbollah confirmed on Saturday that its leader and one of its founders, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut the previous day. A statement from Hezbollah group on Saturday said, Nasrallah “has joined his fellow martyrs.” Hezbollah vowed to “continue the holy war against the enemy and in support of Palestine.” Nasrallah is by far the most powerful target to be killed by Israel in weeks of intensified fighting with Hezbollah. Ali Karki, the Commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front, and additional Hezbollah commanders, were also killed in the attack, the Israeli military said. The military said, it carried out a precise airstrike on Friday while Hezbollah leadership met at their headquarters in Dahiyeh, south of Beirut. Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, an Army spokesperson, said the airstrike was based on years of tracking Nasrallah along with “real time information” that made it viable.

 

He said Nasrallah’s death had been confirmed through various types of intelligence, but declined to elaborate. Shoshani declined to say what munitions were used in the strike or provide an estimate on civilian deaths in the strike, only saying that Israel takesmeasures to avoid civilians whenever possible and clears strikes ahead of time with intelligence and legal experts. Israel’s Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, said on Saturday that the elimination of Nasrallah was “not the end of our toolbox,” indicating that more strikes were planned. He said that the strike targeting Hezbollahleadership was the resultofalongperiodofpreparation. The Lebanese Health Ministry said six people were killed and 91 injured in the strikes on Friday, which levelled six apartmentbuildings.

 

The Israelimilitary saidit was mobilising additionalreserve soldiers as tensions escalate withLebanon,activating three battalions of reserve soldiers toserveacross thecountry.The call comes after it sent two brigades to northern Israel earlier in the week to train for a possible ground invasion. On Saturday morning, the Israelimilitarycarriedoutseveral strikesin southern Beirut and eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. Hezbollah launched dozens of projectiles across northern and central Israel and the Israel-occupiedWest Bank.InBeirut’ssouthernsuburbs, smoke rose and the streets were empty after the area was pummelled overnight by heavy Israeli airstrikes. IRAN SENIOR COMMANDERKILLEDWITH NASRALLAH: IRAN announced on Saturday that a prominent General in its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard sanctioned by the US died in an airstrike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut. Abbas Nilforushan, 58, was killed on Friday in Lebanon, ‘IRNA’ news agency reported. The US Treasury had identifiedNilforushanas thedeputy commander for operationsin the Guard. It sanctioned him in 2022 and said he had led an organisation “directly in chargeofprotestsuppression, whichhasplayedacriticalrole in arresting protest leaders during previous protests.”