OAN Staff Abril Elfi
8:50 AM – Saturday, September 28, 2024
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has confirmed that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah died during an Israeli airstrike on the group’s headquarters in Lebanon.
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IDF’s Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, confirmed the death of the leader on Saturday.
“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.”
The IDF revealed they had targeted Nasrallah when they attacked the southern Beirut headquarters of Hezbollah. At first, a media relations official for the group declared him “fine and well.”
Hezbollah then later acknowledged the death of Nasrallah. They also stated they would keep fighting Israel “in support of Gaza and Palestine, and in defense of Lebanon and its steadfast and honorable people” in a statement provided to Reuters.
Lebanon’s health ministry reported that numerous people were injured and that at least two more people had died.
“The IDF announces that yesterday (Friday), September 27th, 2024, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Hezbollah terrorist organization and one of its founders, was eliminated by the IDF, together with Ali Karki, the Commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front, and additional Hezbollah commanders,” the IDF said in a statement.
“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 statement added. “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.”
The IDF said that Nasrallah was the primary decision-maker and strategic coordinator of Hezbollah.
On Friday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters that “the United States was not involved in Israel’s operation,” noting there was “no advance warning,” from the Israelis.
After warning Hezbollah about Israel’s right to go on the offensive during his speech to the UN General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut short his trip to New York.
“As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice, and Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their home safely and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” he said.
Following the speech, a photo of the Israeli prime minister in his New York hotel endorsing the operation against the terror chief was made public by the prime minister’s office.
According to the IDF, it is still hitting Hezbollah-owned terrorist infrastructure.
“Since last night, the IDF struck over 140 Hezbollah terror targets, including launchers aimed at Israeli civilians, buildings in which weapons were stored, strategic weaponry, weapons production facilities, and additional terrorist infrastructure sites, some embedded underneath residential buildings in the area of Beirut,” the IDF said.
“The IDF is continuing to operate to degrade and dismantle Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure and capabilities,” it added.
Ayatollah Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, stated “the resistance” will not be destroyed, but he made no mention of Nasrallah’s passing. The Supreme Leader went on to say Hezbollah is leading the “resistance forces” that will determine the “fate of the region.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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