Multiple Israeli news outlets are reporting that Israel was successful in taking out Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah on Friday when they leveled Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut, but at this time there has been no official confirmation.
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IDF spokesperson RAdm. Daniel Hagari issued a statement on the attack:
“Moments ago, the Israel Defense Forces carried out a precise strike on the Central Headquarters of the Hezbollah terror organization…taking the necessary action to protect our people so that Israeli families can live in their homes, safely and securely.”
Listen to IDF… pic.twitter.com/I4hbN7KkO8
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 27, 2024
An Israeli official confirmed to The Times of Israel that the strike targeted Nasrallah and quoted him as saying, “It’s very hard to imagine him coming out alive from a strike like that.” The outlet also wrote that two major Israeli TV stations are reporting on-air that Nasrallah has been eliminated.
Some in Syria are celebrating, though.
توزيع الحلويات فرحاً في مدينة #اعزاز بالشمال السوري بعد أنباء عن هلاك المجرم #حسن_نصرالله بغارات جوية اسرائيلية استهدفت اجتماعاً كبيراً يضم كبار قادة #حزب_الله_الارهابي في #الضاحية_الجنوبية بانتظار التأكيد 🥳 #بيروت pic.twitter.com/ts8o6mzw2m
— أنور النهار (@anwaralnahar) September 27, 2024
The post reads:
Distributing sweets in joy in the city of Azaz in northern Syria after news of the death of the criminal Hassan Nasrallah in Israeli air strikes targeting a large meeting of senior leaders of Hezbollah in Lebanon – awaiting confirmation
Nasrallah has led Hezbollah for more than three decades and rarely ventures out in public due to fear of assassination. The New York Times describes him thusly:
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The beard beneath the black turban marking him as a Shiite Muslim cleric has turned almost white over his 32 years in charge of Hezbollah, during which time Mr. Nasrallah, 64, has built it into a potent force. Hezbollah has become both a political organization that holds sway in the fractious, dysfunctional efforts to govern Lebanon and an army equipped with ballistic missiles that can threaten Tel Aviv.
The leader of the strongest militant group that Iran has helped to create in the region, Mr. Nasrallah has extended its reach well beyond Lebanon. Hezbollah fighters were instrumental in shoring up the government of President Bashar al-Assad next door in Syria when it was threatened by a popular uprising that started in 2011. Designated as a terrorist organization by the United States, Hezbollah has helped to train Hamas fighters, as well as militias in Iraq and Yemen.
It’s still unclear which or how many Hezbollah leaders were killed in the strike. At least one Israeli TV station is reporting that Nasrallah’s daughter was killed in the strike, and multiple reports say that Israeli forces believe that Nasrallah’s likely successor, Hashem Safieddine, head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council, was eliminated. Safieddine is Nasrallah’s cousin and also the father-in-law of Qasem Soleimani’s daughter. Additional reports in Israeli media claim that a senior Iranian Quds Force commander and Hezbollah’s southern front commander, Ali Karachi, were also killed.
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Friday’s attack occurred as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations – with Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati in the audience.
Regardless whether Nasrallah is dead, what a glorious fu*k you that was by the tiny Jewish state to the rest of the world!
They all wanted us to stop, to appease these jihadi bastards. But Netanyahu went to UN, slammed that cesspool, then got off podium & calmly gave the order.… pic.twitter.com/c6qmImsFcc
— Arsen Ostrovsky 🎗️ (@Ostrov_A) September 27, 2024
Mikati then cut his trip short and is returning to Lebanon for emergency meetings, and Netanyahu is also returning home.
The New York Times reports that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “has called an emergency meeting of the Supreme National Security Council at his home compound” in response to the attack.
As with last week’s pager and two-way radio attacks, President Joe Biden says that the Israeli government did not give the United States a heads-up before this attack.
