Terror master Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israel Defense Forces strike on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Beirut, the military confirmed on Shabbos.
There was no immediate official reaction from the Lebanese government, but a source close to Hezbollah said contact with him had been “lost.”
Several hours later, Hezbollah confirmed Nasrallah’s death.
The Israeli Air Force conducted the massive airstrike targeting the headquarters, built underground beneath residential buildings, in the heart of the Dahiyeh district of the Lebanese capital on Friday evening.
The operation to assassinate Nasrallah was named “New Order.”
The commander of Hezbollah’s terror activities in Southern Lebanon, Ali Karaki, was also killed in the attack. Karaki, the Iranian proxy’s No. 3 terrorist, had narrowly evaded an Israeli targeted killing attempt earlier this week.
On Shabbos, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was transferred to a location with heightened security, Reuters reported, citing two regional officials.
Beforehand, Khamenei called on Muslims to “stand by the people of Lebanon and the proud Hezbollah with whatever means they have and assist them in confronting the … wicked regime [of Israel],” according to a statement carried by Iranian state media.
“The fate of this region will be determined by the forces of resistance, with Hezbollah at the forefront,” he added.
Khamenei convened on Friday night an emergency session of the Supreme National Security Council to discuss a response, according to The New York Times.
Iran’s embassy in Lebanon condemned the strike on Nasrallah and vowed to “bring its perpetrator an appropriate punishment.
“This reprehensible crime … represents a dangerous escalation that changes the rules of the game,” stated the mission.
In a separate strike, the IDF killed Mohammed Ismail, the commander of Hezbollah’s missile array in Southern Lebanon, the military announced on Shabbos. He was responsible for numerous attacks, including Wednesday’s ballistic missile launch at Tel Aviv.
“The is not the end of the tools in the toolbox,” said IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi of the targeted killings. “The message is simple, to anyone who threatens the citizens of the State of Israel, we will know how to get to them.”
Earlier on Shabbos, the IDF called on Lebanese civilians to evacuate from several buildings in Dahiyeh, a known Hezbollah stronghold, as the Israeli Ai Force carried out waves of strikes across Lebanon.
Among the targets were weapons manufacturing and storage facilities, along with a Hezbollah command center, in Beirut, as well as other terrorist infrastructure in the Beqaa Valley in the country’s east.
“The terrorist organization Hezbollah and its leader Hassan Nasrallah joined the war against the State of Israel on Oct. 8. Since then, Hezbollah has continued its attacks against the citizens of the State of Israel, and has dragged the State of Lebanon and the entire region into escalation,” the IDF said in a statement released on Saturday.
“The IDF will continue to harm anyone who promotes and engages in terrorism against the citizens of the State of Israel,” it added.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah continued on Shabbos to pummel the Jewish state with rocket fire, with a surface-to-surface missile launched from Lebanon hitting an open area in central Israel, the IDF said.
In accordance with protocol, air raid sirens were not triggered, as the projectile was not headed for populated areas.
Hezbollah also fired a volley of Fadi-1 rockets at Kibbutz Kabri in the Western Galil, as well 10 rockets towards Tzfas in the Eastern Galilee.
Additionally, a long-range missile struck in Shomron, reportedly hitting a Palestinian home in Hawara, near Nablus.
There were no reports of injuries.
(JNS)