Hassan Nasrallah, The elusive chief of Lebanon’s terrorist organization HezbollahThe Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed on Saturday that he was killed in a massive airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon. The Israeli military said air force jets carried out a precision airstrike, codenamed Operation New Order, while Hezbollah leadership met at its headquarters in Dahiyah, south of Beirut.
“Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world,” the IDF tweeted. However, a Hezbollah spokesman had earlier said that Nasrallah, who took over as head of the organization in 1992 when he was only 32, was unharmed.
development comes between a Series of killings of Israel’s opponents in recent months. Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas’s political wing, and Fuad Shukr, a top Hezbollah commander, were ousted in July.
The Israeli military said Friday’s attack also killed Hezbollah’s southern front commander Ali Karki and additional commanders. Nasrallah’s daughter, Zainab NasrallahAlso killed in bombing which destroyed many buildings and displaced thousands of Lebanese.
Announcing Nasrallah’s death, IDF Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Harzi Halevi said Israel would reach out to anyone threatening the country and its citizens. He said, “This is not the end of the toolbox. The message is simple to those who threaten Israeli citizens. We will figure out how to reach them.”
Israeli media reported that more than 80 bombs were dropped on Hezbollah’s headquarters. On average, one bomb contained one ton of explosive.
The Lebanese Health Ministry said air strikes on Friday killed six people and injured 91. However, the death toll is likely to increase.
Who was Hassan Nasrallah?
Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah for more than three decades with significant support from Iran, has not been seen in public for years amid fears he could be assassinated by Israel.
The leadership of Nasrallah, the son of a vegetable vendor, saw Hezbollah evolve from a militia established to fight Israeli troops occupying Lebanon into a force much stronger than the Lebanese Army. Born in 1960 in Bourj Hammoud, east of Beirut, he was the eldest of nine children.
Nasrallah joined a Shia militia called the Amal Movement in 1975. Seven years later, he and other members broke away from the group and formed another organization named Islami Amal. The move was taken shortly after Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982 following attacks by Palestinian militants.
The new organization, which later formed Hezbollah, received considerable military and organizational support from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Within a short time Hezbollah emerged as the most prominent Shia militia.
Hezbollah officially announced its founding in 1985 and published an open letter, calling for the “elimination” of Israel, which it said was occupying Muslim lands, the BBC reported. Is.
After Hezbollah chief Abbas al-Musawi was killed in an Israeli helicopter strike in 1992, Nasrallah took command of the organization at the young age of 32.
He announced his succession by ordering rocket attacks into northern Israel and attacks on the Israeli embassies in Türkiye and Buenos Aires, Argentina. 29 people died in the attack in Argentina.
Friday’s airstrikes were not the first time Nasrallah had been targeted. In 2006, after a period of uneasy peace, Hezbollah launched a cross-border offensive that killed eight Israeli soldiers.
Israel responded by bombing Hezbollah strongholds in the south. Nasrallah’s home and offices were also targeted, but he escaped unharmed. Since then, he has rarely been seen in public and has held meetings in underground bunkers.