Lebanon: Hezbollah Confirms Hassan Nasrallah's Death in Israeli Strikes

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Facts

  • Israel's military said Saturday that it had killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a series of airstrikes at the Iran-backed group's headquarters in southern Beirut overnight on Friday.[1][2]
  • In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said that, alongside Nasrallah, additional Hezbollah commanders, including Ali Karki, the commander of Hezbollah's Southern Front, were also killed.[3][4]
  • Nasrallah, the 64-year-old founding member of Hezbollah who had led the group since 1992, was reportedly eliminated in a targeted strike on the group's headquarters, allegedly located beneath a residential building in Beirut's southern suburb of Dahiyeh.[5][6]
  • Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said the airstrike was conducted following 'precise' and 'real time intelligence'. Israeli media has reported that US-supplied type 84 munitions were used to kill Nasrallah, though the IDF hasn't addressed the allegations.[7][8]
  • In a statement, Hezbollah confirmed Nasrallah's death and vowed to keep fighting Israel in support of Gaza. It said: 'The leadership of Hezbollah pledges... to continue its jihad in confronting the enemy, supporting Gaza and Palestine, and defending Lebanon and its steadfast and honorable people.'[9]
  • Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a statement stating that the Resistance forces would retaliate and urged all 'Muslims to stand with the people of Lebanon and the honorable Hezbollah.'[10]

Sources: [1]Al Jazeera, [2]CNN, [3]Activetrail, [4]Timesofisrael, [5]Reuters, [6]New York Post, [7]Guardian, [8]Breitbart, [9]Daily Mail and [10]News18.

Narratives

  • Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Jerusalem Post and www.ndtv.com. Nasrallah had murdered hundreds of Israeli civilians and soldiers and directed and executed multiple terrorist activities across the world. However, he will no longer be able to terrorize anyone anymore. Though he is dead, the IDF will continue to target Hezbollah, eliminate the terrorist organization, and establish regional stability.
  • Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Middle East Eye and Dw.Com. Nasrallah's death doesn't mean that Hezbollah is destroyed because the group is made up of tens of thousands of warriors capable of taking revenge on Zionist criminals and has the support of all the resistance forces. This provocative assassination will be confronted as Israel appears ready to expand its genocidal campaign that began in Gaza to Lebanon.
  • Narrative C, as provided by POLITICO and Washington Post. Israeli attacks in Lebanon and Nasrallah's assassination mark a significant escalation in the crisis in the Middle East. It threatens to draw in Iran, throw the fate of the Lebanese state into question, and displace innocent civilians on both sides of the border. The US must step in before this explodes into a wider regional war.

Predictions