Israeli Army Claims Nasrallah Killed in Dahieh Strike

Israel’s military reported on Saturday that Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut the previous night. However, there has been no official confirmation from Hezbollah regarding his death.

Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesperson, confirmed the news on the social media platform X, stating, “Hassan Nasrallah is dead.” Another Israeli military representative, Captain David Avraham, confirmed to AFP that Nasrallah had been “eliminated” following the airstrikes on the Lebanese capital.

A source close to Hezbollah, speaking anonymously to AFP, mentioned that communication with Nasrallah had been lost since Friday evening. The source recalled that similar rumors about his death had circulated during the 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah, but Nasrallah had later resurfaced unharmed.

Israel’s military issued a statement explaining that the strikes also killed Ali Karake, identified as the commander of Hezbollah’s southern front, along with other unspecified Hezbollah leaders. The statement further claimed that the attack occurred while Hezbollah’s senior leadership was orchestrating terrorist operations against Israeli civilians.

The statement emphasized that during his 32 years as Hezbollah’s leader, Nasrallah was responsible for numerous attacks on Israeli civilians and soldiers, as well as directing terrorist activities globally.

Hezbollah has been firing rockets into Israel since the October 7 attack by Hamas on southern Israel, which triggered the current conflict. Recently, Israel has escalated its operations in Lebanon, resulting in heavy bombardment that has caused over 700 deaths and displaced about 118,000 people.