Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah—Target Of Israel’s Beirut Strike—Confirmed Killed

Topline

Hezbollah confirmed Saturday its longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah—the target of Israel’s aerial bombardment on the group’s Beirut headquarters—was killed during the strike, a major victory for Israel but a further escalation in the conflict.

Key Facts

Nasrallah was killed in a large strike on what the Israel Defense Forces called Hezbollah’s “central headquarters” in southern Beirut, according to The Washington Post.

Israeli leaders were tracking the whereabouts of Nasrallah months ahead of the strike, which involved the use of more than 80 bombs, The New York Times reported, noting the body of Hezbollah commander Ali Karaki was found and identified alongside Nasrallah’s.

Nasrallah’s cousin and potential successor, Hashem Safieddine, was not present at the site of the attack and could soon be announced as Hezbollah’s new secretary general, the Times reported, citing Israeli Defense Force officials.

Israel expects Hezbollah or its allies to launch retaliatory strikes following Nasrallah’s death and has prohibited gatherings of more than 1,000 until Monday evening in certain parts of the country, the Post reported, citing Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari.

The Israel Defense Forces said in a statement early Saturday, “Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world.”

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Who Is Hassan Nasrallah?

Nasrallah, 64, was Hezbollah’s secretary general for 32 years, according to the Times, building the group’s status as a political party and military power over those three decades. The former secretary general has referred to Israel as “the Zionist entity” and called for Jerusalem to be liberated, according to multiple outlets. Nasrallah was described as a “fiery orator” by the Associated Press, which noted he largely stayed out of the public eye out of fear of Israeli assassination attempts. The late Hezbollah leader supported Hamas’ strike against Israel on Oct. 7 last year, and vowed that Hezbollah would continue attacking Israel along its northern border until a cease-fire was reached in Gaza.

Key Background

The Israel-Hezbollah conflict has ramped up significantly in the last two weeks, killing more than 600 in Lebanon and injuring more than 2,000, the AP reported. Israeli strikes have largely targeted southern Lebanon and the country’s capital of Beirut, while Hezbollah has launched its own strikes into northern Israel and beyond, claiming a ballistic missile recently fired at Tel Aviv was supposed to target Mossad, Israel's intelligence agency. The missile was intercepted. The conflict shows no signs of slowing down, as Israel has considered a ground invasion into Lebanon that would mark another escalation toward all-out war in the Middle East, where about 40,000 U.S. troops are stationed.

Further Reading

Who is longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah? (AP)

Israel Preparing For Potential Ground Invasion Into Lebanon (Forbes)