The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has been killed.
In a statement shared on the IDF’s X account, it says: “Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world.”
The statement follows a series of overnight strikes in Beirut which Israel said were targeting Nasrallah
As a reminder, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon’s militant Shia Islamist Hezbollah movement, is one of the best known and most influential figures in the Middle East.
Nasrallah has not been seen in public for years because of fears of being assassinated by Israel.
A shadowy figure with close personal links to Iran, he played a key role in turning Hezbollah into the political and military force it is today – and remains revered by the group’s supporters.
Under Nasrallah’s leadership, Hezbollah has helped train fighters from the Palestinian armed group Hamas, as well as militias in Iraq and Yemen, and obtained missiles and rockets from Iran for use against Israel.
For several hours overnight, the Israeli military carried out a wave of air strikes on Dahieh, Hezbollah’s stronghold in southern Beirut.
After warning residents to evacuate, the army said it targeted locations including weapons production facilities and storage sites that, it said, were under civilian housing. Hezbollah, in a statement, rejected this.
Fleeing their homes carrying only bags and rucksacks, thousands of people have congregated in streets and squares in central Beirut.
These attacks followed the most powerful Israeli airstrikes on the city in this conflict, apparently targeting Hezbollah’s long-time leader Hassan Nasrallah.
Lebanon’s health ministry has ordered hospitals in Beirut and its surrounding area to prepare to evacuate the suburb’s hospitals and receive their patients.
In a statement, released from ministry this morning, it says that the capital, Mount Lebanon and the areas “not affected by the Israeli aggression” should stop taking “non-emergency cold cases” until the end of next week.
It comes as Israeli continued to strike the region on Saturday morning.
The ministry are also calling on hospitals to prepare for patients who have been displaced during the night.
By BBC News
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