Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world, the Israeli army wrote on the 10th just before 10 a.m. on Saturday.
In a longer statement he writes Israel Defense Forces Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (64 years old) and other high-ranking members of Hezbollah were killed in an air strike.
Hezbollah confirmed his death in a statement on Saturday afternoon:
– You say that the fight against Israel continues.
The Israeli army claims this happened in a targeted attack against what is believed to be Hezbollah's underground headquarters Dahi.
According to Reuters, Iran said in a statement on Saturday that there will be national mourning for three days after Nasrallah's death.
Lebanon and Hezbollah
Lebanon is a country with many separate religious groups, with Shia Muslims being the most populous, followed by Sunni Muslims and various Christian groups.
Hezbollah is a Shiite Islamist group, and among the country's Shiite Muslims, support for Hezbollah is strongest. The group has the support of Iran, where Shiite Muslims also form a clear majority and are in power.
Israel directs its attacks against areas in southern Lebanon and neighborhoods in Beirut where many Shiite Muslims live.
A number of countries consider Hezbollah a terrorist organization, including the United States. The European Union has only placed the armed wing on its terrorist list, according to SNL.
The Israeli attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday evening and Saturday night sparked speculation that Nasrallah was the target.
Who is Hassan Nasrallah?
Hassan Nasrallah was born in Lebanon in 1960. He was active in the Shiite political movement Amal before joining Hezbollah in 1982.
The group was formed that year by members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
-
image: Bilal Hussein/AP/NTP -
image: Bilal Hussein/AP/NTP -
image: Bilal Hussein/AP/NTP -
A number of people evacuated their homes in southern Beirut and gathered in Martyrs' Square. image: Taimur Azhari/Reuters/NTB
Under Nasrallah's leadership, the organization grew into an important force in Lebanese politics.
He has been Hezbollah's leader since 1992, when his predecessor was killed in an Israeli air strike.
The Israeli army itself describes Nasrallah as the most important decision-maker in Hezbollah.
Read also: New Israeli attacks in Beirut: – It does not seem that anyone is able to stop Netanyahu
Pictures from Beirut on Saturday morning show severe damage to residential buildings in the Lebanese capital. According to the country's health authorities, at least 11 people were killed and 108 others were injured in the attacks.
An IDF spokesman says they don't have an overview of this yet.
Large-scale air strikes against Lebanon last week led to many people being forced to flee their homes. Among them is Raif Zaghloul, who fled to Beirut.
– Continuing attacks in the suburb, at the airport, and in the vicinity of southern Beirut. Most people are now sleeping in their cars or on the street, Zaghloul told VG at 02:00 Saturday night.
Zaghloul was only about 300 meters away when Israel bombed the Lebanese capital on Friday afternoon.
– Total war
Middle East researcher Dag Henrik Tostad tells VG that this is the beginning of a full-scale war.
– this “Game changerP. Now Hezbollah will no longer back down. So this is an all-out war between Hezbollah and Israel. Hezbollah has so far said that it will be a front of support for Hamas and will be committed to the northern regions. But Hezbollah will now plan to carry out whatever attacks it can against Israel, Tostad says.
-Are we there now that there is a large-scale war?
– Now it's all-out war. But so far we have not seen Hezbollah respond with full energy. They may not respond immediately. But in the long term, we have Hezbollah, which will plan to attack Israel with everything it can.
– What can they do, and what can Israel expect? Retaliatory actions?
– This is the big question. How effective is Israel's attempt to reduce or eliminate Hezbollah's capabilities?
Tostad says Israel may have reduced Hezbollah too much in the short term.
But in the long term, it will be difficult to eliminate all of Hezbollah's capabilities without invading Lebanon. Perhaps this is the next stage.
– How likely do you think this is?
– It is as likely as it is unlikely, says the Middle East researcher.
Read also: New Israeli attacks in Beirut: – It does not seem that anyone is able to stop Netanyahu
– What about Iran, what are they doing now?
– Iran faces a dilemma. They didn't want to escalate. They did not want to be drawn into a war with Israel. At the same time, there is pressure inside Revolutionary GuardTo participate to a greater extent alongside Hezbollah. Such an attack on their closest allies might force them to take steps they don't really want.
Iran responds
Hezbollah has very close relations with Iran, with which it receives significant financial support, in addition to sharing interests and ideology.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attacked Israel on Saturday morning, according to Reuters.
He describes the Israeli leadership as a “terrorist gang,” and says that what he calls “resistance forces in the region” stand side by side and support Hezbollah.
– God willing, Lebanon will repent of the evil invading enemy distorted by its actions, he says and continues:
The fate of this region will be decided by the resistance forces, led by Hezbollah, as Khamenei said.
Trygve Johannes Smidt is a lieutenant colonel and researches military ground operations at the War College. He told VG that Nasrallah's death means the conflict will continue.
– Hezbollah will try, with the support of Iran, to respond to this. I think the cycle of violence will continue.
Smit says Israel has now attacked several sites where Hezbollah stores missiles and other weapons.
– It's part of keeping Hezbollah down for a period of time. But in the long run, I can't imagine there will be less conflict.
Are we now witnessing a large-scale war?
– I think it is difficult to escalate the matter more than what we see now. Hezbollah does not have the means to carry out any conventional attack against Israel. The question is whether Israel is preparing to enter Lebanon with forces, as Smit says.
Israeli Army: A number of leaders were killed
On Saturday night, the Israeli army announced that it had killed a number of senior Hezbollah figures in a second raid in southern Lebanon this week.
on cable They write that Israeli fighter planes killed Muhammad Ali Ismail, the head of the missile unit, and his assistant, Hussein Ahmed Ismail.
Read also: Israel confirms the attack in Beirut: Hezbollah leader killed
According to the New York Times, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called a crisis meeting over the situation.
Hezbollah has roots in Iran and enjoys the support of the Iranian regime. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah is described as a close ally of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
revision
In an earlier version of this case, Hassan Nasrallah reportedly led Hezbollah for 40 years. He joined Hezbollah in 1982, but did not become leader until 1992. It is therefore true that he led Hezbollah for 30 years. Corrected at 10:08 on 28 September 2024.
In an earlier version of the matter, Tostad, a Middle East expert, was quoted as saying that “(…) such an attack on their closest allies may force them to take the steps they really want.” It is true that Tostad said, “(…) such an attack on their closest allies could force them to take steps that in fact no He wants.” The error was corrected at 11:40 on 28 September 2024.
“Organizer. Social media geek. General communicator. Bacon scholar. Proud pop culture trailblazer.”