The Israeli army announced on Sunday that it had carried out “dozens” of new raids against Hezbollah in Lebanon, particularly in the suburbs of Beirut. She indicated that she “eliminated terrorist Nabil Qaouq, commander of Hezbollah’s security unit and member of the central council” of the organization.
Hezbollah, a Lebanese armed formation allied with Palestinian Hamas, at war against Israel in the Gaza Strip, confirmed on Saturday the death of its charismatic leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli bombardment of incredible power on Friday on its stronghold near Beirut.
The death of the man who was considered the most powerful man in Lebanon is a devastating blow to the movement, constitutes a major victory for Israel against Iran and its allies, but plunges the region into the unknown.
“We have settled scores with the person responsible for the murder of countless Israelis and many citizens of other countries“, welcomed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “The line“of Nasrallah”will continue and its sacred objective will be realized with the liberation of Jerusalem“, according to Tehran.
Tehran’s response
Several Hezbollah executives were killed alongside Hassan Nasrallah on Friday in the operation called “New Order”, Israel said. A deputy to the head of the Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s ideological army, was also killed in the same strike. His death “will not go unanswered,” Tehran promised. According to Israel, “most” of Hezbollah’s senior leaders have been killed in recent months.
At the head of Hezbollah since 1992, Hassan Nasrallah, 64, was a man of religion who was the subject of a veritable cult of personality among his supporters, particularly within the Shiite Muslim community from which he came. For years he had lived in hiding and rarely appeared in public. His cousin Hachem Safieddine, an eminent figure in Hezbollah, appears to be a potential successor.
Tehran requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Saturday evening “to stop Israeli aggression and prevent dragging the region into all-out war”. Pope Francis has called for an immediate ceasefire in “martyrified” Lebanon.
One million displaced
The Israeli army announced on Sunday that it had again “attacked dozens of terrorist targets” of Hezbollah: rocket launch sites, military installations and weapons depots. The official Lebanese agency ANI reported on Sunday at least six deaths in the bombing of a house in the region of Hermel (north-east), as well as “violent raids” on the town of Baalbek (east) and its surroundings.
According to Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, nearly a million people may have been displaced by Israeli bombings, the largest population displacement in the country’s history, according to him. “I didn’t even take clothes, I never thought we would leave like this, only to suddenly find ourselves in the street,” said Rihab Naseef, 56, a resident of south Beirut.
The World Food Program (WFP) has announced an emergency operation to provide food aid to one million people affected by the violence in Lebanon. Financed and armed by Iran, Hezbollah was created in 1982 at the initiative of the Revolutionary Guards. Despite the incessant blows carried out by Israel, the movement announced on Saturday that it had fired rockets against northern Israel, most of which were intercepted.
On Sunday, the Israeli military reported that around eight projectiles fired from Lebanon fell in open areas on the outskirts of Tiberias in northern Israel. She also added that she had intercepted an “aerial target” coming from the Red Sea, where pro-Iranian Houthi rebels have claimed several attacks against Israel in recent months.
“Total defeat”?
The attack on Nasrallah “was very sophisticated.” She “also demonstrates (…) to what extent Israel has infiltrated Hezbollah“, deciphers James Dorsey, researcher at the Middle East Institute at the National University of Singapore. “Either we are witnessing an unprecedented reaction from Hezbollah (…) Or its total defeat“, estimates Heiko Wimmen, specialist in the region at the International Crisis Group (ICG).
The Shiite movement opened a front against Israel at the start of the Gaza war, sparked by the Hamas attack on Israeli territory on October 7, 2023. After a year of sporadic exchanges of fire across the border, Israel launched almost a week ago a major bombing campaign against the Shiite movement in Lebanon. Israel claims to be acting to stop Hezbollah’s fire towards the north of its territory and thus allow the return of tens of thousands of residents forced to flee.
At the same time, it continues without respite its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip where at least six people were killed in strikes in Gaza City, Jabalia (north) and Nousseirat (center), according to Civil Defense in the besieged Palestinian territory. The Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people on the Israeli side, the majority civilians, according to a count based on official Israeli data and including hostages who died or were killed in captivity in the Gaza Strip.
Of the 251 people taken as hostages on October 7, 97 are still being held in Gaza, 33 of whom were declared dead by the Israeli army. At least 41,595 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli military campaign of retaliation on the Gaza Strip, the majority civilians, according to data from the Hamas government’s Health Ministry for Gaza, deemed reliable by the UN.
Lebanon Israel Gaza Palestine Hezbollah Middle East war Beirut
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