Hezbollah announced on Saturday that its long-time leader, Hassan Nasrallah, had been killed in an airstrike on the group’s underground headquarters near Beirut, confirming earlier reports from Israel. The Israeli forces had targeted the Hezbollah-dominated area known as the Dahiya, aiming to destroy weapons caches. The airstrikes led to an evacuation order, causing more residents to flee for safety and deepening the sense of fear in Lebanon.
The death of Nasrallah marks a significant escalation in Israel’s ongoing campaign against the Iran-backed group, which has already resulted in two weeks of intense back-and-forth attacks, raising the specter of a wider regional conflict. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, condemned the Israeli strikes but did not specifically mention Nasrallah, stating that all the resistance forces in the region stand with and support Hezbollah.
The situation in Beirut has become increasingly tense, with many feeling that the capital is no longer safe, especially after months of Hezbollah clashes along the country’s border with Israel. Thousands of people from outside Beirut sought refuge in the city, with many spending the night on the streets and beaches. Zakiya Khattab, who fled the Dahiya, expressed the prevailing sense of uncertainty, saying, “Nobody has any idea what to do. We would love to go back but we can’t. It’s not safe.”
The toll from the Israeli strikes is devastating, with Lebanon’s health ministry reporting at least six deaths and over 90 injuries, which were expected to rise as emergency workers continued to search through the rubble. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, in a defiant speech at the U.N. General Assembly, vowed to press on with the fight against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, despite international calls for a cease-fire.
Amid the escalating crisis, Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati cut short his meetings at the U.N. General Assembly to return to Beirut, while Netanyahu, in a highly unusual move, also returned to Israel on the Jewish Sabbath, signaling the gravity of the situation.
