Hassan Nasrallah — the secretary-general of Hezbollah — was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday, according to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Hezbollah has confirmed its leader's death. Sayyid Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader also mourned the demise calling Nasrallah "the great Mujahid".
A Hezbollah statement said Nasrallah “has joined his fellow martyrs.” The group vowed to “continue the holy war against the enemy and in support of Palestine”, news agency AP reported.
Iran's Supreme Leader mourned the Hezbollah leader's death as he stated, "The great Mujahid, the standard-bearer of Resistance in the region, a virtuous scholar of religion & a wise political leader - Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah (may God be pleased with him) - achieved martyrdom in last night's tragic events in Lebanon & has ascended to the the heavens."
"Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world,” the IDF posted on X earlier in the day.
"Hassan Nasrallah is dead," military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani also announced on X.
Quoting a source close to Hezbollah, The Times of Israel reported that contact had been “lost” with Hassan Nasrallah since last evening. “Contact with Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has been lost since Friday evening,” the source said earlier before the group confirmed Nasrallah's death.
After Israel said it had “eliminated” the Hezbollah chief in a strike on the group’s southern Beirut bastion, IDF Chief of Staff Lt Gen. Herzi Halevi said Israel would reach anyone who threatens the country and its citizens.
“The is not the end of the tools in the toolbox. The message is simple, to anyone who threatens the citizens of the State of Israel, we will know how to get to them,” he said, according to a The Times of Israel report.
In a major escalation in Israel’s military action in Lebanon, Israel is bombarding Hezbollah strongholds in Beirut's southern suburbs, as the war shifts towards the Lebanon border from Gaza. As per several media reports, Nasrallah's daughter was killed in the massive Israeli airstrike. However, there has been no official confirmation of her death.
On Friday, Israel attacked Hezbollah headquarters in an apparent bid to kill Nasrallah. However, a Hezbollah spokesperson had said Nasrallah was unharmed in the strike.