BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s Hezbollah announced on Saturday that its leader and founding member, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting a southern suburb of Beirut.
The death of the militant group’s long-serving chief sent shockwaves across Lebanon and the broader Middle East, where Nasrallah had been a towering political and military figure for over three decades.
Nasrallah, whom Israel has long accused of orchestrating deadly attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets, had been a prime target for assassination for years. His death marks one of the most significant Israeli targeted killings in recent history, sharply escalating tensions in the Middle East. Hezbollah is supported by Iran, Israel’s chief regional adversary.
The Israeli military confirmed it launched a precise airstrike on Friday, targeting Hezbollah leaders gathered at their headquarters in Dahiyeh, a district in southern Beirut.
Following the announcement of Nasrallah’s death, gunfire erupted across Beirut and other parts of Lebanon as supporters mourned his loss.
“We wish it were our children, not you, Sayyid!” cried a grieving woman, using the honorific for Nasrallah, as she held her baby in Baabda, a city west of Beirut.