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.
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What is Hezbollah, the group battling Israel in Lebanon?
Israel strikes Lebanon’s mountain town of Bhamdoun
An Israeli strike hit the Lebanese mountain town of Bhamdoun, southeast of Beirut, early this morning, a Lebanese lawmaker for the area Mark Daou said.
He told Reuters that the extent of damage was not immediately clear.
Who is Hassan Nasrallah?
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has led the Lebanese militant group for the past three decades and transformed it into one of the most powerful paramilitary groups in the Middle East.
Israeli airstrikes yesterday knocked out six buildings in Beirut’s southern suburb of Harek Hreik, the largest strike in the Lebanese capital in nearly a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.
The Israeli military said the strike, which killed and wounded dozens of people, hit the headquarters of Hezbollah in Beirut. Three major Israeli TV channels said Nasrallah was the target of the strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs, which has not been officially confirmed by Israel. Hezbollah officials did not comment.
More here
Who is Hassan Nasrallah, shrewd strategist of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah?
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has been leading the group since 1992 turning it into Lebanon's most powerful force
Israel launches new wave of attack on Lebanon today
The Israeli military launched a fresh wave of pre-dawn attacks on the southern suburbs of Beirut in Lebanon today.
Israel Defence Force warned residents living near “Hezbollah interests” in the Dahiyeh district of southern Beirut to evacuate immediately by at least 500m.
The military claims it attacked Hezbollah “in the Bekaa, deep in Lebanon”. It also bombed Burj el-Barajneh, al-Kafaat, Hadath, Laylaki, Choueifat, and Ghobeiry areas in southern Beirut, as well as targets near Beirut airport, Al Jazeera reported.
Norway issues warrant for Indian-origin man in relation to pager explosions in Lebanon
Police in Norway are searching for an Indian-origin Norwegian man in connection with the sale of pagers to the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that exploded last week.
At least 39 people, including children, were killed and 3,000 injured after hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies exploded across Lebanon in what is widely suspected to have been an Israeli attack.
Authorities have issued an international search warrant for Rinson Jose, the 39-year-old founder of a Bulgarian company that is alleged to be part of the pager supply chain.
Mr Jose’s company claimed he had been missing since traveling to Boston last week for a conference. “I can confirm that we have an employee who went to a conference in Boston whom we have been unable to contact since Wednesday last week,” Amund Djuve, chief executive of DN Media group, told Onmanorama.
What is the proposed Lebanon-Israel ceasefire deal?
The UK has joined the US and France and several other allies in calling for a 21-day ceasefire in the escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
At least 720 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon this week, as Israel carried out an extensive bombing campaign days after a pair of attacks caused pagers and walkie-talkies to explode.
The UK, US, France, have been joined by nine other countries – Australia, Canada, European Union, Germany, Italy, Japan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar – in calling for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon.
In a joint statement, they described the situation in Lebanon as “intolerable” and in “nobody’s interest”.
“It is time to conclude a diplomatic settlement that enables civilians on both sides of the border to return to their homes in safety,” the statement said.
Alex Croft has more.
What is the proposed 21-day Lebanon ceasefire deal?
The UK has joined 11 other countries in pushing for a truce
In Pics: Israel strike Beirut in a pre-dawn attack
At least 720 killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon
At least 720 people, including dozens of women and children, have been killed in Israel’s week-long airstrike on Lebanon, the country’s health ministry said.
The Israeli military has struck Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut in a series of massive explosions that targeted the leader of the militant group and leveled multiple high-rise apartment buildings.
The biggest blast to hit the Lebanese capital in the past year appeared likely to push the escalating conflict closer to full-fledged war, and at least six people were killed and 91 were wounded, according to Lebanon officials.
The toll is likely to rise significantly as teams are still combing through the rubble of six buildings.
Breaking: Israel ‘intercepts’ number of rockets fired from Lebanon
The Israeli military today said it detected the launch of 10 rockets fired at Upper Galilee in northern Israel and intercepted some of them.
The military in a post on X said it “continues to attack, damage and degrade Hezbollah’s military capabilities and infrastructure in Lebanon”.
Benjamin Netanyahu vows to keep ‘degrading Hezbollah’
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu signalled to the world from the UN that the multiple conflicts in the Middle East were far from resolved, and he vowed to continue battling Hezbollah in Lebanon and defeat Hamas in the Gaza Strip until “total victory”.
“Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their home safely. And that’s exactly what we’re doing,” Mr Netanyahu said. “We’ll continue degrading Hezbollah until all our objectives are met,” he said.
Shortly after his speech, blasts rocked Beirut and the Israeli military said it had struck Hezbollah’s headquarters.
The attack appeared to target Hezbollah’s leader and prompted Mr Netanyahu to cut short his trip to New York by a day and make unusual travel on the Jewish Sabbath to get home.
No confirmation of Hezbollah leader Nasrallah’s death
A fresh wave of air raids hit Beirut’s southern suburbs today as Israel stepped up attacks on Hezbollah, after a massive strike on the Iran-backed movement’s command centre that apparently targeted leader Hassan Nasrallah.
There was no immediate confirmation of Nasrallah’s fate.
But a source close to Hezbollah told Reuters he was not reachable, and the Lebanese armed group had not made a statement.
“I think it’s too early to say... Sometimes they hide the fact when we succeed,” an Israeli official told reporters when asked if the strike on Friday had killed Nasrallah.
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