Smoke rising from the site of an Israeli air strike that targeted a neighborhood in the southern suburbs of Beirut early on September 28, 2024.
Fadl Itani | AFP | Getty Images
Hezbollah confirmed that its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed on Friday in an Israeli air strike in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
A Hezbollah statement on Saturday said that Nasrallah “joined his companions, the great and immortal martyrs.” This confirmation came a few hours after the Israeli army announced the killing of Nasrallah, after carrying out a large-scale attack on Lebanon the previous day.
“Hassan Nasrallah is dead,” Israeli army spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said on the X social media platform earlier on Saturday.
The Israeli military said Nasrallah, who led the Iran-backed militant group for more than three decades, was killed on Friday when fighter jets launched what it described as a “targeted strike” on Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut.
Among other Hezbollah leaders, the Israeli military said Ali Karki, the commander of Hezbollah's southern front, was also killed in the raid.
Smoke rises as damage occurs in surrounding buildings as a boy appears on the rubble after Israeli warplanes targeted the Dahiya area in Beirut, Lebanon, on September 28, 2024.
Hossam Shabaro | Anatolia | Getty Images
This announcement represents what could be considered a massive blow to Hezbollah after several months of conflict. The Israeli military said Nasrallah is the group's “central decision-maker” and “strategic leader.”
Lebanese political analyst Roni Chatah said on Saturday that Hezbollah, which was able to exercise power with absolute authority, became the largest paramilitary force in the world and became the most sophisticated terrorist organization in the world, is now gone.
Before Hezbollah confirmed his death, he said, “I believe that the symbolism cannot be overestimated. This is the deepest psychological blow to this organization since its inception. Hezbollah cannot be as it was without Hassan Nasrallah.”
Chatah said that what will emerge in the coming months and years will be “something else,” an organization that will remain the same, “albeit much smaller.”
President Joe Biden on Saturday called Nasrallah's killing in the Israeli airstrike “an measure to achieve justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians.”
In the White House statement, Biden also doubled down on his support for Israel and his continued calls for a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in Gaza. He also reiterated his hope to calm the conflict in the Middle East, which is teetering on the brink of a comprehensive regional war.
“Big emptiness”
Nasrallah (64 years old) is considered one of the most influential figures in the Middle East and played a major role in transforming Hezbollah into a major military and political force.
He has led the Lebanon-based group since 1992, and took over after Israel assassinated the group's former leader, Abbas al-Musawi.
File photo: Lebanese Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters during a public appearance at a religious procession, one day before Shiites celebrate Ashura, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, October 11, 2016.
Aziz Taher | Reuters
Hezbollah, recognized as a terrorist organization by the United States, Britain and other countries, is known to be motivated by its violent opposition to Israel and resistance to Western influence in the Middle East, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. .
Firas Maqsad, a senior fellow at the Washington-based Middle East Research Institute, said on Saturday that news of Nasrallah's killing would lead to “major” regional repercussions.
“Nasrallah was the most prominent and well-known Arab leader in Iran’s regional axis. His killing is a symbol of the direct confrontation between Israel and Iran over the future of Lebanon and the Levant. This is likely the beginning of a coming clash, not a conflict.” “The end,” he said.
He continued: “At the local level, Nasrallah was also the most powerful leader (in) the Shiite community in Lebanon. His assassination leaves a big void and raises serious (questions) about the future role of the sect within the old sectarian system in Lebanon.”
“In the short term, this is likely to exacerbate political polarization and further contribute to the fragility of a country with a weak central government, contributing to further unrest,” Maqsad said.
Tens of thousands of people on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border were forced to leave their homes as a result of cross-border shooting in the months following the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. Hezbollah expressed its solidarity with the Palestinian Hamas movement.
Israeli leaders pledged that residents evacuated from northern Israel would be able to return to their homes.
“Israel is now waiting to learn whether Iran will join in the retaliation on behalf of Hezbollah, which will lead to a greater regional escalation,” Nimrod Goren, a senior fellow on Israeli affairs at the Middle East Institute, told CNBC.
“But recent developments also provide an opportunity to get out of the way. After reducing Hezbollah’s strength, Israel must finally be prepared for a ceasefire in Gaza.”
— CNBC's Emma Graham contributed to this report.
