Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah killed in airstrike: what we know so far

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah killed in airstrike: what is known so far Asya Kovaleva

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah killed in airstrike/Collage by Channel 24

IDF officially announces death of leader and one of founders Hezbollah's Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the group's underground headquarters. Later, the group confirmed the death of its leader.

Nasrallah was killed on September 27 in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut. The main information about the liquidation of the Hezbollah leader can be found in the article by 24 Channel.

What is known about the death of Hassan Nasrallah

The IDF announced that Israeli fighter jets carried out a targeted strike on Hezbollah's central headquarters, located underground beneath a residential building in the Dahiya neighborhood of Beirut. The strike was carried out based on information received that all Hezbollah leaders had gathered at the headquarters, as stated in the official statement.

Important. Hassan Nasrallah, as the central decision-maker and strategic leader of Hezbollah, was the main target of the strike.

At the same time, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said on Saturday morning that killing Nasrallah is “not the last measure in Israel's arsenal.”

Israel's message is simple: We will get anyone who threatens Israeli citizens. In the north, in the south and in remote places, said Ha-Levi.

Hezbollah officially confirmed the death of its leader Hassan Nasrallah

Hezbollah's leadership confirmed the death of its leader within a few hours. This was reported by the Al-Manar TV channel, which is associated with the organization. Nasrallah was called a “martyr”, and the group's statement indicated that it would continue the fight against Israel.

The media reported, citing sources close to Hezbollah, that Nasrallah stopped communicating after the start of Israeli strikes. However, according to the source, the movement's leader is safe. Telegram channels linked to Hezbollah also denied Nasrallah's death.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was the first to speak out about the situation. He condemned Israel's actions, but did not address the main issue – Nasrallah's fate.

“The massacre of the defenseless people in Lebanon once again demonstrated to everyone the ferocity of the frenzied Zionist dog and proved the short-sightedness and stupidity of the policy of the leaders of the usurper regime,” AFP quotes Khamenei as saying.

But Reuters, citing a source close to Hezbollah, reported that Nasrallah may be alive. The Iranian news agency Tasnim said the same.

An unnamed Israeli official also said that Nasrallah was present in the command center and that “no one could have survived there.”

Israel dropped over 80 bombs on Nasrallah's bunker

On September 27, the Israeli Air Force struck Hezbollah's main headquarters in Beirut, using more than 80 bombs to kill Hassan Nasrallah.

Important! The IDF strike on Hezbollah's central headquarters on September 27 was the fourth attack on the Lebanese capital in nearly a year since the conflict began.

Operation New Order resulted in Nasrallah's death; It was the fourth attack on Lebanon's capital in nearly a year since the conflict began.

According to an Israeli official familiar with the strike, Jerusalem used bunker busters, munitions designed to penetrate underground targets, in the attack. It was not immediately clear whether the strike was successful.

Under Nasrallah, Hezbollah became one of the most brutal armed groups

Hassan Nasrallah took over the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah in 1992, after his predecessor as head of the movement, Secretary General Abbas Musawi, was killed in an Israeli Air Force missile strike.

Soon after Nasrallah took over the leadership of Hezbollah, the movement carried out two terrorist attacks in Argentina, targeting the Israeli embassy and the Jewish Cultural Center. Under Nasrallah, Hezbollah also began regularly shelling northern Israel.

Reference. Following the Hamas attack on Israeli population centers in October 2023 and the subsequent IDF military operation in the Gaza Strip, Nasrallah declared war on Israel and ordered shelling until Israel withdrew its troops from the Gaza Strip.

Several generals could have died in Israeli strike

Iranian regime officials said several IRCG commanders, including Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan, the IRGC's deputy commander for operations, were killed in an Israeli airstrike yesterday.

Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan was also killed in the airstrike on Nasrallah. He served as the deputy commander for IRCG operations and acting commander of Quds Force operations in Syria and Lebanon.

Abbas Nilforoushan also died during the airstrike against Nasrallah/Visegrád 24

Who will become the successor Nasrallah

Khash Safiddin may become the successor of the slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. He is the second commander of the group.

Important! In 2017, the US State Department designated Safiddin a terrorist, and in June he threatened a major escalation against Israel after another Hezbollah commander was killed.

Safiddin Survived Friday's Israeli Attacks to Beirut, which resulted in the death of Nasrallah.

Why Hassan Nasrallah's Elimination Matters for the World

Security expert Professor Dan Shuftan from the University of Haifa comments on the assassination of the Hezbollah leader.

The assassination of Nasrallah is not just an Israeli-Arab event, it is a milestone for the entire world. It is a hundred times more important than the assassination of the Hamas leader. Hassan Nasrallah was like the military leader of an army that has more ballistic missiles , than most countries in the world, but also a religious leader. He was a hero and an inspiration to millions of people who believed in a new world order led by Islamists, he said.

According to him, Nasrallah's death deprives the Islamists of a unifying figure, and Iran of the most important instrument of its regional policy.