Israel-Lebanon latest: Israel on high alert as Hezbollah confirms leader Hassan Nasrallah killed in strike
Lebanon’s militant group fires back as Israeli launches further strikes on Beirut
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The Israeli mililtary warned it was on high alert as Hezbollah confirmed that its leader Hassan Nasrallah had been assassinated in an airstrike in Beirut, amplifying fears of a wider war in the Middle East.
The airstrike was carried out as Hezbollah’s leadership met at their headquarters in the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh. Ali Karki, the commander of Hezbollah’s southern front, was among several commanders also killed in the attack, the Israeli military claimed.
The Lebanese health ministry said six people were killed and 91 injured in the strikes, which levelled six apartment buildings.
Nasrallah had led Hezbollah for more than three decades, and the group vowed to continue its battle against Israel.
On Saturday morning, Israel maintained its barrage of strikes in southern Beirut and eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, as Hezbollah launched dozens of projectiles across northern and central Israel and the Israel-occupied West Bank.
Israel said it had called up three more battalions of reservists, having earlier sent two brigades to northern Israel to train for a possible ground invasion of Lebanon.
Who is Hassan Nasrallah? Hezbollah leader of Lebanese militant group killed in Israeli strike
Netanyahu warns Iran that Israel can strike anywhere as it hits Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut
Thousands flee Israel airstrikes on Lebanon with what little they can: ‘We’re afraid for a big war’
What is Hezbollah, the group battling Israel in Lebanon?
Analysis: Does Hezbollah chief’s death bring Israeli victory closer?
Israel has has yet to show it has a strategy to persuade its enemies to accept defeat, writes Mark Almond:
Has the death of Hezbollah’s leader brought Israel any closer to victory?
Killing Hassan Nasrallah is unlikely to do more than perpetuate the cycle of violence in the Middle East, writes Mark Almond
Beirut strikes 'killed Iranian military chief’
Iran Revolutionary Guards’ deputy commander Abbas Nilforoushan was killed in the Israeli strikes on Beirut on Friday, Iranian media reports.
Iranian state television read the announcement from Hezbollah confirming Nasrallah’s death live, but there was no other immediate comment.
The country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in a statement read on television: “The resistance movement, headed by Hezbollah, will decide the fate of the region.”
Nasrallah: His power and influence
Idolised by his Lebanese Shi’ite followers and respected by millions of others across the Arab and Islamic world, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah lived largely in hiding in the past years for fear of an Israeli assassination:
Who is Hassan Nasrallah, shrewd strategist of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah?
Hassan Nasrallah’s death would not only mark an enormous blow to Hezbollah, but also to Iran, whose Revolutionary Guards founded the group in 1982
UK repeats plea for ceasefire
The UK government has repeated its plea for calm following the death of Hezbollah’s leader.
British officials reiterated the foreign secretary’s message to the UN this week in which he called for a ceasefire and a political solution to the conflict.
David Lammy told the UN Security Council on Wednesday: “A full-blown war is not in the interests of the Israeli or Lebanese people.”
But pleas for a ceasefire from Western leaders including US president Joe Biden have so far proved unsuccessful, with both Israel and Hezbollah vowing to fight on.
Palestinian militant group Hamas said on Saturday it mourned Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah following his killing in an Israeli airstrike, saying his death would only fuel the fight against Israel.
The group said: “Crimes and assassination by the occupation will only increase the determination and the insistence of the resistance in Palestine and Lebanon to go forward with all their might, bravery and pride on the footsteps of the martyrs... and pursue the path of resistance until victory and the dismissal of the occupation.”
His death marks a heavy blow to Iran, given the major role he has played in the Tehran-backed regional “Axis of Resistance”.
Read more about the Iran-allied groups in the Middle East:
From Hamas to Hezbollah, a look at the groups rallying to arms around Middle East
Hezbollah says it launched a new wave of rockets at Israel in response to an Israeli assassination of one of its leaders last month. It is just the latest spat between Israel and one of several Iran-backed militias in the Middle East
Lebanon health minister says 11 killed and 108 wounded in Israeli strikes on Friday
Lebanon’s health minister has said that 11 people were killed and 108 injured in Israeli strikes on Friday, after the attack which killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah levelled six blocks of flats.
Iran in precarious position after assassination of Hezbollah chief, analyst says
Iran is in a precarious position after the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, having not yet responded either to the death of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, warned Chatham House analyst Dr Sanam Vakil.
“An attack from Tehran will certainly invite an Israeli response – one that Netanyahu is clearly looking for, said Dr Vakil, who leads the think-tank’s Middle East and North Africa programme.
“Its reputation as the patron of the axis is certainly damaged. Iran’s intelligence continues to be compromised and its positioning in Syria too remains under persistent attack. Furthermore, it is clear that the axis has not proven effective at providing Iran deterrence, defence against Israel or a ceasefire in Gaza.
“Pezeshkian, Iran’s new president also seeks negotiations and sanctions relief. A military response to Nasrallah’s death will, for the time being, close down the path of diplomacy. “
“Despite these risks and calculations, Iran will be looking for some way to turn the tables and save some face. This could result in a coordinated axis response including from Iraq and the Houthis or another direct Iranian strike on Israel itself.
“By maintain pressure or even escalating, Tehran is aware that this will invite further attacks, but it will choose to do so keep pressure on Israel, perhaps return the focus to Gaza and a ceasefire and above all to stop further Israeli attacks.”
Breaking: Hezbollah confirms Nasrallah’s death in Israeli airstrike
Hezbollah has confirmed its leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israel airstrike.
France says it has information confirming Hezbollah chief is dead
France’s foreign ministry has said that, according to its information, Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah is indeed dead, as claimed by Israel.
“According to the information we have, Hassan Nasrallah, secretary general of Hezbollah, would indeed have died,” the French foreign ministry said in a statement.
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