srael attacks Lebanon: Israel claims killing of Hezbollah’s Nasrallah
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah
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By Urooba Jamal and Federica Marsi
Published On 28 Sep 2024
28 Sep 2024
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The Israeli army claims to have killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, in a massive air attack on Lebanon’s Beirut on Friday evening. There has been no comment from the Lebanese group.
Multiple air raids target residential apartment buildings in attack that is described as “unprecedented”, with children reported among those killed. More than 700 people killed across Lebanon since Israel intensified a bombing campaign on Monday.
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44s ago (09:27 GMT)
‘Not justifiable attacking densely populated areas – but world does nothing’
Commenting on the Israeli claims of killing Nasrallah, military and security analyst Elijah Magnier has told Al Jazeera that the focus should be “on the several buildings that all disappeared under the ground, with all their inhabitants,” as a result of the Israeli air attack on Friday.
“It’s absolutely considered a war crime and a crime against humanity – and it’s not in any way considered a collateral damage,” he told Al Jazeera.
“The percentage of the people who are killed in such a populated and dense area – it’s not justifiable,” Magnier said.
He added, however, that is not surprising that the focus is going on Nasrallah, rather than “the civilians who perished because of the Israeli strike” given the Israeli military actions against Palestinians.
“We have seen Israel and the Americans covering it, committing it all the war crimes, crimes against humanity and intent of genocide
under our watchful eyes and the international community’s eyes in Gaza and the West Bank – and the world did nothing,” Magnier said.
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7m ago (09:20 GMT)
Worry among Hezbollah members over fate of group leader
Zeina Khodr
Zeina Khodr
Reporting from Beirut, Lebanon.
There has been no confirmation from Hezbollah on the alleged killing of its leader Hassan Nasrallah, but I can tell you, his supporters are worried.
This is a man who has a lot of support, especially among his Shia constituency in Lebanon. They see him as a father figure, a religious leader and as a man who has improved their standing in Lebanon.
At the same time, Hezbollah is a non-state actor that is better armed than the Lebanese state and this has earned it enemies in the country.
The last speech Nasrallah gave was prerecorded and he knew he was being hunted down.
If the news of his death is true, this will be a political earthquake in Lebanon.
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17m ago (09:10 GMT)
‘Anyone who threatens Israel – we will know how to reach them’: Israeli army
The Israeli army’s chief of staff says it has not emptied its “toolbox” with its claimed killing of Nasrallah.
“This is not the end of our toolbox. The message is simple, anyone who threatens the citizens of Israel – we will know how to reach them,” Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi said in a statement.
Israel’s military claims to have killed the Hezbollah chief after a series of attacks in the capital of Beirut, amid an intensifying bombing campaign that has killed more than 700 people in Lebanon since Monday.
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22m ago (09:05 GMT)
Hassan Nasrallah, a larger-than-life figure
Stefanie Dekker
Stefanie Dekker
Reporting from Amman, Jordan
Al Jazeera is reporting from Amman, Jordan because it has been banned by Israel.
Hassan Nasrallah is a larger-than-life figure when it comes to the politics in the Middle East. He is the figurehead, Iran’s linchpin, if you will. He really created Hezbollah into the organised fighting, disciplined force that it is today.
He came to power, to the helm of the group, 32 years ago when the former secretary-general was assassinated by Israel. I think that is an interesting point, also to show you that these groups don’t just disappear with the assassination of senior figureheads.
He hasn’t appeared in public for years due to security concerns. In Lebanon, everyone stops to listen to him, whether they like him or not.
And over the years, Hezbollah has in Lebanon lost [some of] its support from the people, especially when they started fighting in Syria. Many Lebanese thought, “This is no longer our fight. You are representing Iran, you are not representing us”.
There was also a lot of anger among parts of the Lebanese society when Hezbollah entered in support of the Palestinians of Gaza on October 8. Many Lebanese I’ve been speaking to will tell you, ‘This is not our fight’, as much as they support the Palestinian cause, because Lebanon has its own problems.
Certainly we cannot underestimate the turning point in the Middle East, in the geopolitical situation, when it comes to this [claimed] assassination by Israel. It is a massive blow.
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27m ago (09:00 GMT)
Iranians stage protests against Israel in Tehran
Iranians have taken to the streets of the capital Tehran to denounce the attacks carried out by Israel in Lebanon this past week and the ongoing war in Gaza.
Demonstrators assembled in Palestine Square waved flags and held up posters of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iranian leaders.
“The message is clear, revenge and revenge… the patience of people is coming to an end and we want nothing but revenge,” protester Mohammad Mousavi told Al Jazeera.
“There must be an answer, and it must be very soon because I don’t think people can wait any longer.”
Mousavi said the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, if confirmed, would “bring Israel’s end closer” by increasing rage towards the country.
Iranian demonstrators chant slogans at an anti-Israeli gathering in support of Hezbollah
Iranian demonstrators chant slogans in support of Hezbollah in Tehran [Vahid Salemi/AP]
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37m ago (08:50 GMT)
Houthi
Eleven medical staff killed in Israeli attacks on south Lebanon
The country’s state-run National News Agency reports that 11 doctors, nurses and paramedics were killed and 10 others were wounded in Israeli army attacks on civil defence centres and a medical clinic.
These attacks were carried out on the towns of Taybeh and Deir Siriane, close to the Israeli border.
Israel’s attacks on Lebanon have killed more than 700 people since Monday.
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47m ago (08:40 GMT)
Houthi
Gaza Health Ministry: Israel’s war on Gaza has killed 41,586 people
The ministry has provided an update on the death toll that has resulted from Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, saying that 41,586 people have been killed since October 7 last year and 96,210 have been wounded.
It added that in the past 48 hours alone, 52 people have been killed and 118 wounded.
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52m ago (08:35 GMT)
More on Israel’s claim of Hezbollah leader’s killing
Stefanie Dekker
Stefanie Dekker
Reporting from Amman, Jordan
Al Jazeera is reporting from Amman, Jordan because it has been banned by Israel.
The Israeli army says it eliminated the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah.
Yesterday, the army killed the leader of the “terrorist organisation” – these are Israeli words – and one of its founders. The army also killed Ali Karaki, the commander of the southern front of the organisation, and a number of other Hezbollah leaders.
[Israel’s statement] goes on to say air force planes with precise intelligence guidance from the security establishment raided what they said at the time were Hezbollah’s central headquarters, located underground, of course, in that densely populated area of Dahiyeh when those strikes hit – 10 or 12 in quick succession.
When we watched that unfold, there was no doubt that the target was a major one. Soon after, we had leaks stating that Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, in charge of the group for 32 years, had been there at the time.
We still haven’t had any official word from Hezbollah, but this just in from the Israeli army.
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1h ago (08:25 GMT)
Houthi
Israeli army claims killing of Hezbollah’s leader
The army claims in a statement that in its massive air strike on Beirut yesterday evening, it killed Hassan Nasallah, the longtime leader of Hezbollah.
There has been no comment from Hezbollah at this time.
We will bring you more details on this shortly.
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1h ago (08:20 GMT)
Suffering for children ‘horrendous’ in Gaza: UNICEF
Conditions in Gaza are progressively deteriorating as the conflict approaches one year, James Elder, global spokesperson for UNICEF, has told Al Jazeera.
“Every time I come back it gets worse because it’s a cumulative crisis,” he said. “There are continuous denial and restrictions on aid and 85 percent of the Gaza Strip is under some form of evacuation order, which is why these indiscriminate attacks make so many victims.”
Elder said the suffering for children was especially acute. “I’ve seen children with fourth degree burns and I didn’t even know that was possible,” he said. “I’ve seen a young boy with burns so severe he didn’t even have skin left for skin graft surgery and the doctors have no anaesthetic for him.”
The UNICEF spokesperson added that a military solution would not be possible in Gaza. “It’s going to be a political solution and the sooner we come to that, the sooner we can end the horrendous suffering on women and children,” he said.
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1h ago (08:20 GMT)
Iran calls out world for silence on Israeli assaults
A spokesperson for the country’s Foreign Ministry has said on X that Israel and Zionism are a threat to the entire world, and has taken aim at what he called the “inaction” of “governments and international assemblies, especially the UN Security Council, regarding the horrific and unprecedented crimes of the Zionist regime in Palestine and Lebanon”.
He also slammed the US for its “full military, political and economic support” to Israel’s “criminal regime”.
The US continues to provide billions of dollars in military aid to Israel, even as it urges it publicly to cease its war on Gaza and its strikes on Lebanon.
“The smoke of the world’s inaction towards the crimes of the terrible and rebellious Israeli regime will be seen by the whole world in the near future”, the spokesperson’s statement concludes.
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1h ago (08:10 GMT)
‘They are just bombing, killing and displacing people’
The latest wave of attacks on Beirut is reminiscent of the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, says one resident in Lebanon’s capital.
But just like then, these latest attacks won’t do anything to stamp out Hezbollah, the resident, who wished to remain anonymous, told Al Jazeera.
“At the end of the day they [are] just bombing, and killing people, and displacing people,” he said.
“[Israel’s attacks] won’t stop anything in the south … the rockets are there, the men are there.”
The aftermath of Israel’s airstrikes in Beirut, as seen from an apartment building, early on Saturday
The aftermath of Israel’s air strikes in Beirut, as seen from an apartment building, early on Saturday [Courtesy of resident in Beirut]
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1h ago (08:00 GMT)
Analysis
Netanyahu hailed as hero in Israel amid Lebanon strikes
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is watching his popularity grow in Israel as the army continues its offensive against Lebanon.
“The Israelis love these images of buildings, highrises collapsing in an Arab capital,” Akiva Eldar, political analyst at the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, told Al Jazeera. “It shows that the Jews have the best army.”
“Netanyahu is now the great hero of Israel,” Eldar said, adding that the prime minister was projecting an image of a victorious leader who will return the residents of northern Israel to their homes without bending to the will of the United States, which has called for a ceasefire in Lebanon.
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1h ago (07:50 GMT)
Israel calls up more reserve units
Israel’s military says it has mobilised three reserve battalions to boost its Central Command defence.
The army had earlier in the week sent two battalions to northern Israel to train for a possible ground invasion of Lebanon.
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1h ago (07:40 GMT)
Photos: The aftermath of Israeli strikes in Beirut
Children with their families lie on the ground in Beirut’s Martyrs’ square
Children with their families lie on the ground in Beirut’s Martyrs’ Square after fleeing the Israeli air strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs [Bilal Hussein/AP]
An aeroplane flies over Beirut’s southern suburbs, amid ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces,
An aeroplane flies over Beirut’s southern suburbs, as seen from Sin el-Fil, Lebanon [Mohamed Azakir/Reuters]
A man checks the devastation in the Haret Hreik neighbourhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs
A man checks the devastation in the Haret Hreik neighbourhood of Beirut’s southern suburbs, in the aftermath of the first wave of Israeli strikes on September 27 that levelled several buildings [Anwar Amro/AFP]
Families sit on the ground in Martyrs’ square after fleeing the Israeli airstrikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs
Families sit on the ground in Martyrs’ Square after fleeing the Israeli air strikes in Beirut’s southern suburbs [Bilal Hussein/AP]
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1h ago (07:30 GMT)
Israeli Air Force pounds targets in Bekaa Valley
Israel’s military said jet fighters have attacked “dozens” of Hezbollah targets in the Bekaa Valley and various areas of southern Lebanon and the attacks are continuing.
Buildings were targeted in the strikes where weapons were stored and sites where rockets were launched into Israel, the military said.
The was no mention made of the number of casualties from the attacks.
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2h ago (07:20 GMT)
Hezbollah continues limited strikes on Israel
As Lebanon endures a morning of heavy bombardment by Israeli warplanes, Hezbollah has announced two attacks via statements on its official Telegram channel.
Most recently, it said that it unleashed a salvo of Fadi-3 missiles against Israel’s Ramat David Airbase about 20km (about 12.5 miles) southeast of the city of Haifa.
Israeli media reported that air raid sirens sounded in towns surrounding Haifa, but did not report any casualties from the attack.
Earlier, the group said that it launched a barrage of Fadi-1 missiles at the town of Kabri.
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2h ago (07:10 GMT)
Civilians killed as Israel targets sites in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley
Assed Baig
Assed Baig
Reporting from Bekaa Valley, Lebanon
The focus is in the Bekaa Valley because parts of it are considered Hezbollah strongholds.
The Bekaa Valley lies between the eastern mountain range and the western mountain range and behind the eastern mountain range is Syria and many believe there are roots from Syria to Hezbollah strongholds. That they can get weapons into the country and also Israel believes that there are weapons storage sites here in Bekaa Valley.
Ultimately we have seen civilians being killed.
Yesterday there was a funeral for 15 people – members of the same family that were killed here in Bekaa Valley.
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2h ago (07:00 GMT)
WATCH: Lebanese community steps up to help people displaced by war
Lebanese volunteers have come together to help people displaced by the Israeli military’s bombing campaign in parts of southern Lebanon.
They prepare food at the Nation Station community kitchen in the capital, Beirut, and help with the distribution of clothes donations.
Watch the full report below:
Play Video
Video Duration 01 minutes 28 seconds
01:28
Lebanese community steps up to help people displaced by the war
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2h ago (06:50 GMT)
Syria denounces Israeli attacks in Beirut
The Syrian Foreign Ministry has called the latest Israeli attacks in Lebanon’s capital “a new crime against humanity”.
“The Syrian Arab Republic strongly condemns all these continuous crimes, and renews its affirmation that the Israeli terrorist entity’s insistence on shedding blood and committing all kinds of war crimes and crimes against humanity that are blasphemy, will lead the region to a dangerous acceleration that is impossible to predict its consequences,” it said in a statement.
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2h ago (06:40 GMT)
Israel’s targeting of Hezbollah leader in Beirut bombing a ‘very dangerous turning point’
Stefanie Dekker
Stefanie Dekker
Reporting from Amman, Jordan
Al Jazeera is reporting from outside Israel because it has been banned by the Israeli government
There seems to be a lot of confidence within the Israeli establishment that the leader of Hezbollah, the secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, was at the location.
The message that is coming out in Israeli media in leaks is that it’s very difficult to see how he would have survived this attack.
This is from the Israelis. We’ve heard nothing from Hezbollah.
The message from the Israelis now is that they are checking whether the strike – in their words – has been “successful”.
All of this is speculation but certainly the feeling from Israel is that he was there.
It’s extraordinary really. We are at a very dangerous turning point when it comes to what happened yesterday in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
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2h ago (06:30 GMT)
Israeli army claims Hamas commander in southern Syria killed
The Israeli army is claiming that it killed the head of the Hamas network in southern Syria, Ahmad Muhammad Fahd, overnight on Friday.
Fahd was “eliminated” before he carried out another operation against Israel, the Israeli army claimed in a post on X.
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3h ago (06:20 GMT)
Bombing of Beirut adds to Lebanon’s ‘mass displacement crisis’
Zeina Khodr
Zeina Khodr
Reporting from Beirut, Lebanon
We just heard a huge explosion.
We are at one of the entrances to Beirut’s southern suburbs. Neighbourhoods of Beirut’s southern suburbs came under heavy fire late yesterday. Twelve hours of intense bombardments.
We can see some people making their way back inside. These are people who left their homes in a hurry last night and who are now returning to retrieve whatever they can get from their homes.
There is a lot of fear here. The roads are nearly empty. This area on a normal day would be packed with cars and a lot of traffic because this is a densely populated area.
We’ve been driving around the Lebanese capital for the past two hours and you see people in parks, in public squares and along the beach, and even on the side of the roads. They have nowhere to go.
This is a mass displacement crisis already since Monday when Israel began its intensive and extensive air strikes targeting Hezbollah’s traditional strongholds in the east and south of the country. It displaced more than 100,000 people. That’s added to the 110,000 who were already displaced in 11 months of fighting.
Now this is a new wave of displacement that is causing more strain on a nearly cash-strapped government.
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3h ago (06:17 GMT)
Houthi
Multiple explosions heard in Tel Aviv: Report
There are reports of explosions heard in Tel Aviv, according to Israeli news outlet Ynet.
Meanwhile, a surface-to-surface missile fired from Lebanon towards central Israel fell in an open area, the Israeli army said. The army added that no sirens were sounded and that the incident was under review.
We will bring you more details as soon as we have them.
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3h ago (06:10 GMT)
Analysis
US diplomacy a ‘charade’ to conceal direct support for Israel: Analyst
Mouin Rabbani, non-resident fellow at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies, spoke to Al Jazeera earlier about Israel’s attack on Beirut and the role of the United States.
Rabbani said the claim by US officials that they did not know in advance of Israel’s attack on Beirut was not plausible given its close intelligence ties to Israel.
“What we have here is the United States repeatedly claiming that it had absolutely no idea of the latest developments until it was informed by the Israelis,” Rabbani said.
“This is the same government that spent months warning the world about the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And despite its exceptionally close intelligence relationship with Israel, and intelligence sharing and all the rest of it, now claims it had absolutely no clue that any of this was happening.”
Rabbani said current US diplomacy “is an exercise in smoke and mirrors”.
“A diversionary charade to conceal the direct support the United States has been providing Israel throughout the past year,” he said.
Play Video
Video Duration 02 minutes 16 seconds
02:16
Blinken accused of lying to Congress over Gaza aid
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3h ago (06:00 GMT)
Houthi
Four killed following Israeli military attacks in central Gaza
There have been several deadly Israeli military attacks in the Nuseirat and Maghazi areas of central Gaza in recent hours, the Wafa news agency reports.
Gaza’s civil defence recovered two lifeless bodies from the rubble, along with several injured people, after the Israeli military shelled the Harb family home in Block C of the Nuseirat refugee camp.
One person was also killed as a result of Israeli artillery shelling on Salah al-Din street opposite the Nuseirat refugee camp.
A fourth person was killed when the Israeli military shelled the road separating the Maghazi and Bureij refugee camps.
Israeli forces also bombed the Zeitoun and Sabra neighbourhoods of Gaza City in northern Gaza, with no casualties reported.
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3h ago (05:50 GMT)
WATCH: ‘Long arm of Israel’ can reach anywhere in Iran, Netanyahu tells UNGA
The “long arm of Israel” can reach the “tyrants of Tehran” anywhere in Iran and the Middle East, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a fiery speech at the UN General Assembly on Friday.
Listen to his comments below:
Play Video
Video Duration 01 minutes 23 seconds
01:23
‘Long arm of Israel’ can reach anywhere in Iran, Netanyahu tells UNGA
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3h ago (05:40 GMT)
LISTEN: Beirut bombarded by Israel; Delegates walk out on Netanyahu at UNGA
A series of huge explosions have rocked the Lebanese capital Beirut.
Israel has said its attacks were on Hezbollah’s central command headquarters in Dahiyeh, in the capital’s southern suburbs.
Dahiyeh has been targeted a number of times before and subjected to these bombing attacks. But the wave of strikes carried out on Friday night and Saturday morning has been described as “unprecedented”.
Listen to the full report:
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3h ago (05:30 GMT)
‘Everything under pressure’ in Lebanon after another night of attacks
Imran Khan
Imran Khan
Reporting from Marjayoun, Lebanon
There’s been absolutely no letup in Israeli air strikes. We’ve heard several explosions overnight in the area that I’m in, which is Nabatieh governorate.
We’ve seen explosions in Tyre, which was supposed to be one of the safe places that people could flee to from here, and that’s now under intense bombardment.
The Israeli military has said they’re attacking weapons launchers and Hezbollah’s military buildings in Lebanon, but civilians keep dying. All of the towns, all of the villages, even the little hamlets, are all emptying out. People are just fleeing.
There’s a lot of pressure on emergency services, too. This is a very foresty area, and so you get forest fires. Somebody told me from the civil defence that they’ve been battling three or four or five fires a day.
Thirty-seven hospitals have been shuttered because medical staff are scared that Israel will do what did in Gaza and go after medical infrastructure and bomb hospitals.
Everything is under pressure right now, and whether it gets to breaking point remains to be seen.
