Breaking News: Israeli Army Strikes Down Top Leaders, Including Hassan Nasrallah

On Saturday, the Israeli military announced the death of Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and other leaders in an airstrike that targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut on Friday.

Israeli army spokesman Avichai Adrei said the army had eliminated Nasrallah, officials, Hezbollah’s southern front commander Ali Karki and other leaders.

He added, “Under specific intelligence guidance from intelligence authorities and security agencies, Air Force aircraft struck Hezbollah’s central headquarters, which is located underground under a residential building in the southern suburbs.”

He continued, “The operation was carried out at a time when Hezbollah’s leadership was present inside the headquarters.”

Israel’s Army Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said: “This is not an easy message for anyone to reach to the citizens of Israel.”

Hezbollah confirmed in a statement on Saturday that its secretary-general was killed in an Israeli attack on the southern outskirts of Beirut on Friday.

Israel launched airstrikes on Saturday in the southern suburbs of Beirut and other areas in Lebanon after a major attack on Hezbollah’s central command headquarters on Friday.

Witnesses told Reuters they heard several more airstrikes before dawn on Saturday and after sunrise. Columns of smoke were seen rising into the sky over southern suburbs controlled by Hezbollah.

Thousands of residents have fled the suburbs since Friday’s attacks and have gathered in squares, parks and sidewalks in central Beirut and areas overlooking the sea.

A source close to the group said six buildings were completely destroyed in an Israeli attack on Hezbollah’s headquarters in a densely populated southern suburb of Beirut.

Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari said the army “carried out a targeted attack” on Hezbollah’s central headquarters in the suburb.

According to Hagari, the headquarters are “located under residential buildings in the heart of the city.”

Nasrallah has led Hezbollah for decades, overseeing its transformation into a military power with regional influence and becoming one of the most prominent Arab figures in support of Iran.

Nasrallah’s supporters praise him for standing up to Israel and challenging the United States. In the eyes of his opponents, he is the leader of a terrorist organization and one of the agents used by Iran’s Shiite regime in its struggle for influence in the Middle East.

Its regional impact has been evident since the start of the war in Gaza nearly a year ago, as Hezbollah, backed by its ally Hamas, entered the battle line firing on Israel from southern Lebanon, followed by groups within the Yemeni and Iraqi “axis of resistance.”

“We are facing a big war,” Nasrallah said in a speech on August 1 at the funeral of Fuad Shukr, a Hezbollah military commander who was killed in an Israeli strike in the southern suburbs.

However, when thousands of Hezbollah members were injured and dozens of Hezbollah members killed last week when communications equipment exploded in an apparent Israeli attack, the tide of war began to turn against the group.

In response to attacks targeting communications devices, Nasrallah pledged in a speech on September 19 to punish Israel.

He said, “This is the reckoning that will come, its nature, size, how and where? This we must keep to ourselves and in narrow circles, even among ourselves.”

Since then he has not said a word.

Meanwhile, Israel has dramatically stepped up its offensive, killing several senior Hezbollah leaders in targeted strikes and carrying out intense bombing of areas controlled by the group in Lebanon, killing hundreds and wounding thousands.

Even his detractors acknowledge that he is an articulate and charismatic speaker whose speeches are followed by friends and foes alike, according to Reuters.

Secretary General since 1992

Nasrallah became Hezbollah’s secretary-general in 1992 when he was just thirty-five years old and became a well-known symbol of the group, which was once a mystical entity founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in 1982 to fight Israeli occupation forces.

Israel killed his predecessor, Mr. Abbas al-Mousavi, in a helicopter attack. Nasrallah was the group’s leader when its fighters finally succeeded in ousting Israeli forces from southern Lebanon in 2000, ending an 18-year occupation.

The conflict with Israel greatly shaped his leadership. He declared a “divine victory” after Hezbollah fought a 34-day war with Israel in 2006, winning the respect of many Arab citizens who grew up watching Israel defeat Arab armies.

But he has become an increasingly divisive figure in Lebanon and the Arab world as Hezbollah’s sphere of activity expands into Syria and beyond, reflecting growing tensions between Shiite Iran and US-allied Sunni Arab states in the Gulf, according to Reuters.

Before assuming leadership of the group, he spent the night with frontline fighters fighting the Israeli occupation army. His younger son, Hadi, was killed in the war in 1997, a loss that made him stand out among Lebanon’s Shiite base.

Planned long ago

Halevi said the army had planned the attack on the southern suburbs “for a long time”.

He explained, “This attack was prepared for a long time, and executed with great precision at the right moment, and now we are moving forward with careful preparations for the next step.”

He continued, “I want to emphasize once again that we are fully prepared on all our fronts. All our forces must ensure full coordination and readiness, including coordination with other agencies.”