{"id":25005,"date":"2024-09-29T00:09:22","date_gmt":"2024-09-28T21:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/?p=25005"},"modified":"2024-09-30T15:01:51","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T12:01:51","slug":"israel-conducts-massive-strike-in-beirut-kills-hezbollah-leader-hassan-nasrallah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/israel-conducts-massive-strike-in-beirut-kills-hezbollah-leader-hassan-nasrallah\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel conducts massive strike in Beirut, kills Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

5 minute read<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hezbollah has confirmed the killing of its longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on September 27, 2024. The confirmation came a few hours after the Israeli army announced the killing of Nasrallah, after carrying out a large-scale attack on Lebanon.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it \u201celiminated\u201d Nasrallah in a Friday strike on Hezbollah\u2019s \u201ccentral headquarters\u201d that leveled several residential buildings in the southern suburbs of Beirut. Israel\u2019s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant called it \u201cthe most important targeted strike since the founding of the State of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Iran-backed Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah said in its statement that Nasrallah \u201chas joined his fellow martyrs\u201d and vowed to \u201ccontinue the holy war against the enemy and in support of Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps said its commander in Lebanon, Abbas Nilforoushan, was also killed in the Israeli strike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Israeli military has expanded war on multiple fronts in the region, rejecting ceasefire calls from the European Union (EU). Israeli air forces began bombardment of Lebanon<\/mark><\/a> after its catastrophic military offensive despite growing international calls for a ceasefire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israeli strikes have razed buildings to rubble in Beirut. At least 11 people have been killed and more than 100 injured since Israel strikes on Friday on the Dahiya, a densely populated area south of Beirut, Lebanon\u2019s health minister, Firass Abiad, said.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"People<\/a>
People inspect damage at the site of an Israeli strike in Beirut’s southern suburbs, Lebanon September 27, 2024. (Image Credit: Reuters\/Mohamed Azakir)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

More than 700 people, including at least 150 women and children, have been killed in Lebanon over the past few days during intense fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Nearly 200,000 Lebanese people have been displaced, according to the UN, in a country facing sharp poverty, economic instability, and limited access to healthcare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hezbollah says it has been firing on Israel<\/mark><\/a> in solidarity with Palestinians trying to survive Israeli attacks in Gaza, which have killed 41,586 people and injured another 96,210, according to Gaza Ministry of Health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Monumental blow to Hezbollah and fears of regional escalation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recent strikes in Lebanon<\/mark><\/a> and the assassination of Nasrallah mark a significant escalation in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which has intensified in recent weeks, prompting fears that it could spill over into a regional war. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lebanon\u2019s former prime minister, Saad Hariri, condemned Israel\u2019s killing of Nasrallah, saying it \u201cplunges Lebanon and the region into a new phase of violence. It is a cowardly act condemned in its entirety by we who paid dearly for the lives of our loved ones when assassination became an alternative to politics.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The killing of Nasrallah, a key figure among anti-Israel forces across the Middle East, dealt a severe blow to Hezbollah, bringing an era of the group\u2019s prolonged conflict with Israel<\/mark><\/a> to a close and leaving its future direction in doubt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lebanese political analyst Ronnie Chatah said the attack’s significance cannot be overstated. \u201cThis is, by far, the deepest psychological blow to this organization since its inception. Hezbollah cannot be the same without Hassan Nasrallah,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Smoke<\/a>
Smoke billows over southern Lebanon following Israeli strikes as seen from Tyre, southern Lebanon, on September 23, 2024. (Image Credit: Aziz Taher\/Reuters)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Israel has vowed to intensify pressure on Hezbollah and is reportedly preparing for a limited ground incursion into Lebanon. Israel\u2019s Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, said that the killing of Nasrallah was \u201cnot the end of our toolbox,\u201d indicating that more strikes were planned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The killings and Israeli strikes in Lebanon, targeting top Hezbollah commanders came days after the explosion of thousands of communications devices<\/mark><\/a>, mainly pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members, that killed 37 people and wounded thousands. Around 30 top Hezbollah leaders over the last several weeks., according to U.S. and Israeli sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Who is Hassan Nasrallah?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nasrallah, 64, was regarded as one of the most influential figures in the Middle East<\/mark><\/a> and has played a key role in transforming Hezbollah into a major military and political force. Over the years, he played multiple roles in the group, serving once as a religious guide, a political strategist, and also commander-in-chief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born in 1960 into a Shiite family in Beirut\u2019s impoverished northern suburb of Sharshabouk, Nasrallah joined the Amal movement, a Shiite political and paramilitary organization, before becoming one of the founders of the Iranian-backed group, Hezbollah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nasrallah became the group\u2018s third secretary-general in 1992, after his predecessor, Abbas al-Musawi, was killed by Israeli missiles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under Nasrallah\u2019s leadership, Hezbollah became one of the most powerful militias in the Middle East. Nasrallah rose to iconic status both within Lebanon and throughout the Arab world after Hezbollah was credited with leading the war that led to the withdrawal of Israeli troops from south Lebanon in 2000, ending an 18-year occupation.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Lebanon\u2019s<\/a>
People watch Lebanon\u2019s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah delivering his televised address, as they sit at a cafe in Beirut. (Image Credit: Mohamed Azakir\/Reuters)<\/sup><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Nasrallah\u2019s eldest son, Hadi, was killed in fighting with the Israeli army in 1997 \u2014 the same year the U.S. designated Hezbollah a terrorist organization. Nasrallah continually turned down calls for Hezbollah\u2019s disarmament, saying, \u201cHezbollah giving up its weapons \u2026 would leave Lebanon exposed before Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the leader of Hezbollah for more than 30 years, Nasrallah reformed Hezbollah into an archenemy of Israel, strengthening alliances with Shiite leaders and Palestinian militant groups such as Hamas. His followers saw him as someone who stood up to Israeli and Western forces that may weaken the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hezbollah faced one of its most significant challenges after the group opened up a front against Israel to take pressure off its ally Hamas in Gaza, in October 2023. In his speeches during the recent conflict, he insisted that Hezbollah would not halt its attacks on Israel until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza. The group suffered serious losses after months of cross-border fighting and targeted Israeli attacks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hezbollah has confirmed the killing of its longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on September 27, 2024. The confirmation came a few hours after the Israeli army announced the killing of Nasrallah, after carrying out a large-scale attack on Lebanon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25004,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[44,1],"tags":[16,75,844,30,26,100,32,356,5,128],"class_list":["post-25005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle-east","category-news","tag-airstrike","tag-conflict","tag-hezbollah","tag-iran","tag-israel","tag-killings","tag-lebanon","tag-middle-east","tag-military","tag-war"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Israeli-strikes-on-Beirut-Lebanon-Nasrallah.jpg?fit=690%2C370&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7jJWb-6vj","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25005"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25028,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25005\/revisions\/25028"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}