Hezbollah has confirmed the death of its leader Hassan Nasrallah, after Israel said he was killed in its airstrikes on the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Friday. The killing marks a major escalation between the two sides, with the militant group already reeling from Israeli attacks.
Nasrallah was one of the founders of Hezbollah, which formed four decades ago with the aid of Iran, and oversaw its transformation into one of the most powerful paramilitary forces in the Middle East.
The strikes that killed Nasrallah targeted a densely populated area, killing at least six people and wounding dozens more, according to Lebanon’s health ministry. Israel launched more strikes on southern Beirut overnight, targeting what it says are stores of Hezbollah weapons. Lebanese state-run media reported further casualties.
As many as half a million people have likely been displaced by recent fighting in southern Lebanon, the country’s health minister says. A CNN team saw people sleeping in the street during the latest strikes.
Hamas issued a statement expressing condolences and solidarity with Hezbollah for the death of its leader Hassan Nasrallah and a number of senior officials from the group.
The militant group condemned Nasrallah’s assassination as a “cowardly aggression,” describing the Israeli airstrike that killed him and his associates as a “heinous crime,” and praising Nasrallah’s longstanding support for Palestinians.
Israel and Hezbollah have been in conflict for decades, but the fighting across the Lebanon-Israel border has intensified since Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel and the ensuing Israeli military offensive in Gaza. Hezbollah has said recent clashes with Israel are in solidarity with Hamas and the Palestinians killed by Israeli bombardment.
Hezbollah and Hamas are part of a larger Iran-led alliance of militant groups spanning Yemen, Syria, Gaza and Iraq.
Islamic Jihad in Palestine (PIJ) echoed Hamas’ sentiments, mourning the loss of a “giant Arab and Islamic figure who paved the path of victory for the nation.” They declared that his death would further “strengthen the resistance in Lebanon, Palestine, and the region.” The group hailed Nasrallah’s legacy, comparing his sacrifices to those of former Hezbollah leader Abbas Musawi
Powerful Iraqi cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr announced three days of mourning in Iraq, referring to Nasrallah as a “companion in the path of resistance and defiance” in a statement on Saturday.