Israel-Lebanon latest: Israel ‘on high alert’ after claiming to kill Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah
Israeli military carried out a strike on Hezbollah leadership south of Beirut on Friday
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The Israeli mililtary has said it is on high alert after claiming to have killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a strike in Beirut, in a major development 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 has lead Hezbollah for more than three decades. There was no immediate comment from the group.
On Saturday morning, the Israeli military 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 also said it had called up three more battalions of reservists, after earlier sending two brigades to northern Israel to train for a possible ground invasion.
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?
Lebanon says it is retaliating with attacks in northern Israel
In the wake of Israel’s claims to have killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, the militant group said it had targeted Israeli sites – including Rosh Pina in the north – with missiles in response to Israeli attacks on Lebanese cities, villages and civilians.
Who is Hassan Nasrallah?
The Israeli military said on Saturday it had killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike on the group’s central headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah has yet to issue any statement on the status of Nasrallah, who has led the group for 32 years.
During Nasrallah’s decades in charge, Hezbollah has grown into a regional force that has projected Tehran’s influence across the Middle East.
His death would not only mark an enormous blow to Hezbollah, but also to Iran, whose Revolutionary Guards founded the group in 1982.
Bassem Mroue has more on the Hezbollah leader here:
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
Iran’s Khamenei ‘moved to a secure location’
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been transferred to a secure location inside the country with heightened security measures in place, Reuters has quoted two regional officials briefed by Tehran as saying.
The sources said Iran was in constant contact with Hezbollah and other regional proxy groups to determine the next steps after Israel announced that it had killed the Lebanese militant group’s chief Hassan Nasrallah in a strike on south Beirut on Friday.
Claimed death of Nasrallah ‘not the end of our toolbox’, Israeli military chief says
The Israeli military’s chief of staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, said the elimination of Nasrallah was “not the end of our toolbox,” indicating that more strikes were planned.
He said that the strike targeting Hezbollah leadership was the result of a long period of preparation.
Contact with Nasrallah ‘lost’ since Friday evening, source close to Hezbollah says
A source close to Hezbollah told Agence France-Presse that contact with the group’s chief Hassan Nasrallah had been “lost” since last evening, after Israel said it had killed him in a strike in southern Beirut.
“Contact with Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has been lost since Friday evening,” the source said. He did not confirm whether Nasrallah had been killed.
Israel mobilises three reserve battalions ahead of Jewish holidays
Israel’s military said it was mobilising three reserve battalions to bolster the defences of its central command, whose areas of operation include the occupied West Bank.
The decision was made ahead of a period of Jewish holidays when tensions often escalate in Jerusalem and the West Bank, where conflict with Palestinian militants has resurged during Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.
“In accordance with the situational assessment, the IDF [Israel Defence Force] is calling up three reserve battalions for operational activities and to strengthen the defence in the Central Command,” the military said.
Nasrallah ‘will no longer be able to terrorise the world'
Hassan Nasrallah “will no longer be able to terrorise the world”, Israel’s military wrote on social media, following the strike which levelled six apartment buildings as Hezbollah’s leadership met at their headquarters in the suburb of Dahiyeh.
Israel maintains barrage of strikes in Lebanon and calls up reservists
Israel has maintained a heavy barrage of airstrikes against Hezbollah this morning and Hezbollah launched dozens of rockets toward Israel – as the country’s military claimed to have killed the group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah.
And the Israeli military said it was mobilising three additional battalions of reserve soldiers, after earlier sending two brigades to northern Israel earlier in the week to train for a possible ground invasion.
Breaking: Israeli military claims to have killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah
Israel's military claims to have killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an air strike in Beirut today.
The military said that it carried out a precise airstrike while Hezbollah leadership met at their headquarters in Dahiyeh, south of Beirut.
Ali Karki, the Commander of Hezbollah's Southern Front, and additional Hezbollah commanders, were also killed in the attack, the Israeli military said.
The Lebanese Health Ministry said that six people were killed and 91 injured in the strikes – which levelled six apartment buildings.
Israel says it killed head of Hamas in southern Syria
The Israeli army today claimed it eliminated the head of the Palestinian Hamas’s network in southern Syria, whom it referred to as Ahmad Muhammad Fahd.
The military said Fahd was responsible for directing attacks on troops through mostly rockets fired on Golan Heights. “Fahad was eliminated while he was planning to carry out another terror attack in the immediate time frame,” Israel said.
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