Hezbollah leader targeted in Israeli strike
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- Hezbollah leader targeted in Israeli strike
- Missile barrage leveled between four and six buildings
- Nasrallah has not been seen in public since 2006
- Known for long, bombastic speeches and a pronounced lisp
- Followers call him “The Sayyed” or “Abu Hadi”
360 summary
- Israel launches missile barrage on Hezbollah's central headquarters in Beirut
- Israel warns residents to evacuate buildings used by Hezbollah to hide weapons
- Israel attempts to eliminate Hezbollah's senior leadership, including Hasan Nasrallah
NPR- Israel has intensified its airstrikes in Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah's central headquarters in a residential area in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
- The escalated campaign has killed more than 720 people in Lebanon, including dozens of women and children, and displaced 211,000 people.
- The scope of Israel’s operation remains unclear, but officials have said a ground invasion to push the militant group away from the border is a possibility.
NPR- Israel's Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, stated that the elimination of Nasrallah was "not the end of our toolbox," indicating that more strikes were planned.
- The strike targeting Hezbollah leadership was the result of a long period of preparation, according to Halevi.
- Israel has vowed to step up pressure on Hezbollah until it halts its attacks that have displaced tens of thousands of Israelis from communities near the Lebanese border.
HuffPost- Israeli officials believe that the missile strike on Hezbollah's central headquarters in Beirut will change the course of the war and force Hezbollah to change its actions.
- Israel is on high readiness and expects Hezbollah to retaliate, but hopes that the blow to the group will bring Israeli civilians back to their homes along the Lebanese border.
- Halting Hezbollah's attacks in the country's north to allow residents to return to their homes is an official war goal for Israel, and they are looking for a change in reality that will make this possible.
HuffPost- Less senior members of Hezbollah may use stronger weapons than before
- Lebanon may have an opportunity to dilute Hezbollah's influence while the organization is weakened
- The biggest question mark is how Iran will respond to Nasrallah's death
HuffPost- Iran's parliamentary committee of national security demanded a strong response to Israel following the attack
- People in major cities and towns across Iran staged anti-Israeli rallies in support of Hezbollah
- The hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah have escalated, with both sides engaged in cross-border strikes that have displaced tens of thousands of civilians
HuffPost- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows to keep up operations against Hezbollah until tens of thousands of Israeli citizens displaced by rocket attacks can return home
- US President Joe Biden reiterates his call for cease-fires in Gaza and between Israel and Hezbollah
- Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian accuses the United States of supporting the killing of Nasrallah and dozens of others
ALJAZEERAHuffPost- The State Department has ordered the departure of nonessential embassy staffers and the families of diplomats who are not employed by the embassy in Beirut due to the volatile and unpredictable security situation in Lebanon's capital.
- The department has also authorized the departure of those who are employed by the embassy but are considered nonessential employees.
- This move comes after an Israeli strike on Friday killed the leader of the Hezbollah militant group, intensifying the fighting along another front of war, this time between Israel and Hezbollah.
HuffPost- Nasrallah joined Hezbollah in the early 1980s after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and became the leader of the group in 1992 after the assassination of his predecessor.
- He is known for his long, bombastic speeches and a pronounced lisp, and his followers call him "The Sayyed" or "Abu Hadi."
- During the 2006 war between Hezbollah militants and Israel, Nasrallah famously promised surprises that were about to begin, and three days later, an Israeli warship was targeted.
The Washington Post- Nasrallah is seen among some in Lebanon as a “messianic figure” and his face is displayed on computer screen savers, posters, and keychains. Taxis play his speeches instead of music.
- Hezbollah's key goal is the destruction of Israel, and under Nasrallah, the group has continued to engage in skirmishes with Israel. Both Hezbollah and Hamas have found common cause recently in opposing Israel, and both groups have been classified as terrorist organizations by the United States.
- Nasrallah's motivations are rooted in the Israeli occupation of Lebanon, which he witnessed along with his peers in other parts of the region such as Palestine, the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Golan, and Sinai.
The Washington Post- Nasrallah claims that Hezbollah and other Hamas allies were unaware of the plans for the Oct. 7 attack, but that Hamas had "no other choice" but to attack Israel.
- Nasrallah boasts that Hezbollah's "daily, targeted" strikes against Israel were distracting and weakening it in its fight against Hamas.
- Nasrallah warns Israel against any "aggression or preemptive strike" on Lebanon, which he said would be "the biggest idiocy in the history of your existence."
The Washington Post- Nasrallah was born in 1960 in East Beirut and was one of nine siblings. He was known for his piety from an early age and would often take long walks to the city center to find second-hand books on Islam.
- He joined the Movement of the Deprived, founded by Shia scholar Musa al-Sadr, which later became the well-known Lebanese party and Hezbollah rival, Amal. However, Nasrallah split from Amal in 1982 after it adopted a staunchly unsympathetic stance towards the presence of Palestinian militias in Lebanon.
- With Iranian support, Nasrallah formed a new group that would later become Hezbollah. The group crystallized its own worldview in a founding document that addressed the "downtrodden of Lebanon" and named the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini of Iran as its one true leader.
ALJAZEERA- Nasrallah led Hezbollah's transition from working outside state politics to becoming a national party participating in democratic elections
- He put Hezbollah on the ballot for the first time in 1992 and appealed to the masses in rousing speeches
- Nasrallah believed that Shia and Sunnis should fight together against Israel and did not fear any sedition between Muslims and Christians or between Shia and Sunnis in Lebanon
ALJAZEERA- Qassem is an important member of Hezbollah's Shura Council and the head of its Jihadi Council.
- He has a long history in Shia political activism, having joined the Movement of the Dispossessed in the 1970s before helping found Hezbollah in the early 1980s.
- The United States and Saudi Arabia have designated Qassem a terrorist and frozen his assets.
ALJAZEERA- Iranian officials mourned Nasrallah's death and vowed to continue his goal of liberating Jerusalem
- Iraqi Prime Minister condemned the attack and called Nasrallah a martyr on the path of the righteous
- Turkish President Erdogan condemned Israel's recent attacks in Lebanon and urged the UN Security Council to stop Israel
ALJAZEERA- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims that as long as Nasrallah is alive, he will continue to restore Hezbollah's capabilities
- Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant calls the operation targeting Nasrallah "one of the most important countermeasures in the history of the state of Israel" and warns that whoever starts a war against Israel will pay a heavy price
- Israeli strikes on Hezbollah assets have killed at least six senior leaders of the militant group in just weeks, including Ali Karki, a Hezbollah commander
The Washington Post- Hasan Nasrallah transformed Hezbollah from a rebel movement to one of the most powerful armed groups in the world and a formidable bulwark against Israeli aggression.
- Hezbollah's intervention in Syria's civil war to rescue President Bashar al-Assad from a pro-democracy uprising that quickly turned into an armed conflict after al-Assad's forces turned their guns on protesters, leading to the deaths of hundreds of thousands, made Nasrallah a polarizing figure in Lebanon and the region.
- Despite the recent blows from Israel, many Lebanese Shia Muslims believe that Hezbollah will ultimately survive and continue to fight to bring down Israel, which was always Nasrallah's wish.
ALJAZEERA- Hashem Safieddine is believed to be among the choices as the group's new secretary-general, as he is Nasrallah's maternal cousin and currently oversees Hezbollah's political affairs.
- Hezbollah's shura council is expected to convene to decide who will lead the party, as Nasrallah's death leaves a leadership vacuum.
- Hezbollah has confirmed that it will continue its military operation in support of Gaza and the defense of Lebanon, despite the loss of its leader.
ALJAZEERA- Hezbollah has been given little agency by Iran in how to use their weapons, leading to miscalculations in their attacks on Israel
- Israel views the strike on Hezbollah as a major victory and will likely continue their offensive
- The success of the attack may sway domestic public opinion in favor of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
ALJAZEERA- Analysts believe that Hezbollah will not be badly affected in the long run as one leader can be replaced with another and the group maintains its vast military arsenal and strength.
- Hezbollah now faces strategic choices amid a temporary leadership vacuum rather than a full blow to its survival.
- Experts believe that Hezbollah has made mistakes that have weakened it relative to Israel, such as allowing the Iranians to use them too much as a proxy.
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