The day after a series of violent strikes targeting Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in the southern suburbs of Beirut, the Israeli army announced that it had “eliminated” the leader of the pro-Iranian militia.
In summary
- The Israeli army intensely bombed the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of Hezbollah, during the night from Friday to Saturday, where a raid of unprecedented violence targeted the powerful leader of the pro-Iranian armed movement on Friday, according to Israeli media. Hassan Nasrallah.
- The Shiite leader was eliminated, the Israeli army announced Saturday morning, while his militia announced the day before that he had emerged unscathed from the strikes. Six people were killed and 91 injured in these strikes described as “precise” by the Israeli army, according to a new report from the Lebanese Ministry of Health.
- Meanwhile, from the UN, from where Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he would continue to strike Hezbollah, the international community urged Israel to stop its strikes, which remains deaf to calls for the moment.
- Find all the information for Friday here
Scenes of jubilation in Tel Aviv and in north-west Syria. Even before the Israeli army announced the elimination of the Shiite leader, scenes of joy took place overnight in the region as rumors spread of his death. In Tel Aviv, a pub broadcast an anti-Nasrallah song echoed by all the customers, while in Syria, not far from the Syrian-Lebanese border, scenes of jubilation overflowed into the streets.
10h05
Last minute. The Israeli army claims to have “eliminated” Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a strike in Beirut. After this announcement, the head of the Israeli army promised to“reach” anyone threatening Israel. At the same time, Hezbollah told AFP that contact with the Shiite leader had been “lost” since Friday evening.
9h34
The southern suburbs of Beirut are burning. Dozens of buildings in the southern suburbs of Beirut continue to burn this Saturday morning, noted an AFP photographer present on site, while the inhabitants of these neighborhoods, considered the stronghold of Hezbollah, had to evacuate by the thousands since the start of the Israeli shelling. As a result of this evacuation, this particularly active popular suburb seemed very calm this Saturday morning, even the Lebanese army posts which control access to the suburbs were deserted. The final results of the strikes remain unknown, as does the state of health of Hassan Nasrallah.
8h57
“Major strikes”. After the southern suburbs of the country’s capital, Israel announced on Saturday morning that it had carried out “major strikes” against Hezbollah in the south of the country. “Over the past two hours, [l’armée] carried out major strikes on dozens of targets […] belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization in the Bekaa region [est] and in different areas of southern Lebanon,” she said in a press release.
8h11
Washington urges Israel to stop strikes. In reaction to Israeli strikes, yet another call for de-escalation. Anthony Blinken once again urged his great Middle East ally to stop the strikes: “The most important thing to do is to first try to get the shooting to stop in both directions, and then use the time we would have during such a ceasefire to see if we can reach a broader diplomatic agreement.” The diplomatic pressure stops here, with Washington denying Israel’s assertions that the United States had been warned of Friday’s strikes.
8h02
The baraka of Nasrallah. The top leader of Hezbollah, probably the most powerful man in Lebanon, is still alive, a close source told AFP on Friday, despite the intense shelling carried out by Israel in his headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut. With legendary discretion, he continues to live in hiding, fleeing the public like a shadow for fear of being assassinated. His profile by our correspondent in Lebanon.
7h50
Hezbollah responds. After the series of Israeli strikes, Hezbollah announced on Saturday that it had fired rockets into northern Israel, the first attack after intense Israeli strikes on the southern suburbs of Beirut overnight. The pro-Iranian movement said in a statement that it had targeted Kibbutz Kabri in northern Israel with Fadi-1 rockets in response to the attacks. “barbarians” from Israel “on towns, villages and civilians” in Lebanon.
7h44
Our report in Beirut. “I took clothes for the children, money, bread…” There were hundreds of Lebanese on Friday evening fleeing the plume of brownish smoke which rose from the center of the suburb, after the Israeli army had targeted the headquarters of Hezbollah, and in particular its secretary general of Hezbollah, Hassan. Nasrallah. “We verified that[il] was in the attacked headquarters, then the army dropped bombs which went through the bunkers“, Israeli Army Radio said on its X account. Our report in Beirut.
7h42
Hospitals in the southern suburbs of Beirut evacuated. The Minister of Health ordered the evacuation of hospitals in the southern suburbs of Beirut after a night of Israeli strikes of unprecedented violence on this district, a stronghold of Hezbollah. Patients from these hospitals will be evacuated to other establishments “unaffected by Israeli aggression”. The latter for their part are called to “stop receiving non-urgent cases until the end of next week”ordered the Ministry of Health, which has not yet given an updated assessment of the victims of the strikes.
7h40
New strikes in eastern Lebanon. The Israeli army announced new strikes targeting Hebzollah in eastern Lebanon on Saturday morning, after intensely bombing the southern suburbs of Beirut, stronghold of the armed Islamist movement, during the night. The army “currently hitting targets […] belonging to Hezbollah in the Bekaa region,” in eastern Lebanon, she said in a statement. The army also indicated that warning sirens sounded in northern Israel, where Hezbollah claimed to have fired rockets.
7h35
Hezbollah military executives killed in strikes. The Israeli army announced Saturday morning the death of Muhammad Ali Ismail, head of Hezbollah’s artillery in southern Lebanon, as well as his deputy and other executives of the pro-Iranian organization. The latter, asserts the army, had “directed numerous terrorist attacks against the State of Israel, including rocket attacks and a surface-to-surface missile toward central Israel on Wednesday.”
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