The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Saturday that it eliminated Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, along with commander Ali Karaki, in a Beirut airstrike the previous day.
“The IDF announces that yesterday (Friday), Sept. 27, 2024, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Hezbollah terrorist organization and one of its founders, was eliminated by the IDF, together with Ali Karaki, the Commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front, and additional Hezbollah commanders,” said the IDF.
In addition to Nasrallah and Karaki, Iranian media reported that Israel killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Brigadier General Abbas Nilforooshan in the strike. Nilforooshan had replaced IRGC Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi, who Israel eliminated in an airstrike in Syria on April 1.
The IDF said that Israeli fighter jets carried out strikes on Hezbollah’s Central Headquarters while Hassan Nasrallah and other leaders gathered for a meeting.
“Following precise intelligence from the IDF and Israeli security establishment, IAF fighter jets conducted a targeted strike on the Central Headquarters of the Hezbollah terrorist organization, which was located underground embedded under a residential building in the area of Dahieh in Beirut. The strike was conducted while Hezbollah’s senior chain of command were operating from the headquarters and advancing terrorist activities against the citizens of the State of Israel,” noted the Israeli military.
While Hezbollah’s allies awaited the news of Nasrallah’s fate on Friday evening, many residents of Azaz in northwest Syria who experienced atrocities at the hands of the Lebanese-based group during the civil war celebrated the news about the leader’s possible demise.
On Saturday, Hezbollah officially acknowledged the death of Hassan Nasrallah in a statement posted on the organization’s Telegramchannel. However, the group has yet to acknowledge the death of Ali Karaki or other military figures who were with Nasrallah at the time of the attack.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei issued a statement on X mourning Nasrallah’s death, saying, “After all his struggle on the path of God, the reward of martyrdom was Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah’s rightful recompense.”
Other actors belonging to the Axis of Resistance, including Hamas, Iraqi militias, and the Houthis, published statements of condolence and support for Hezbollah. Furthermore, Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria declared three days of mourning over Nasrallah’s death.
Since Friday’s strike, Israel continued to attack Hezbollah targets across Lebanon. IDF Arabic Spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued statements warning residents of some sections of Beirut’s Dahieh, the Beqaa Valley, and southern Lebanon to evacuate if they were located near Hezbollah sites.
Hezbollah has continued to fire rockets on Israeli territory but has not increased the scope or intensity of its attacks. For their part, Hezbollah’s Houthi allies in Yemen fired a missile at Israeli territory on Saturday. However, the IDF noted that Israel’s missile defense system intercepted the projectile.
