September 28, (THEWILL) – The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) on Saturday, said that Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who led the Iran-backed militant group for more than three decades, has been killed on Friday, as fighter jets conducted what it described as a “targeted strike” on Hezbollah’s headquarters in Lebanon’s capital of Beirut.
Israeli army spokesperson, Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, in a statement on X, said other Hezbollah commanders, including Ali Karki, the commander of Hezbollah’s southern front, was also killed in the strike.
The IDF said Nasrallah was the group’s “central decision-maker” and “strategic leader.”
Nasrallah, 64, is regarded as one of the most influential figures in the Middle East and has played a key role in transforming Hezbollah into a major military and political force. He has led the Lebanon-based group since 1992, taking the reins after Israel assassinated the group’s previous leader, Abbas al-Musawi.
Lebanese political analyst Ronnie Chatah said on Saturday that if the news of Nasrallah’s death is confirmed, the Hezbollah that had been able to wield power with absolute authority, grow to stand as the world’s largest paramilitary force and become the world’s most sophisticated terrorist organization, was now over.
“I think the symbolism cannot be overstated. This is, by far, the deepest psychological blow to this organization since its inception. Hezbollah cannot be the same without Hassan Nasrallah”, he added.
Hezbollah, which is recognized as a terrorist organization by the U.S., Britain, and other nations, is known to be driven by its violent opposition to Israel and its resistance to Western influence in the Middle East, according to the Council on Foreign Relations think tank.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah has not issued any statement to confirmed the death of Nasrallah.
