The Lebanese group Hezbollah has confirmed the death of Hassan Nasrallah, its longtime leader, in an air strike on the group’s underground headquarters near the capital, Beirut.

Hours after Israel claimed killing the 64-year-old Nasrallah, the Iran-backed Hezbollah on Saturday said its leader “has joined his fellow martyrs” and pledged it would “continue the holy war against the enemy and in support of Palestine” amid fears that a regional war is now inevitable.

Israel carried out a large strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday evening, which it said targeted the Hezbollah leader, flattening at least six residential buildings.

Nasrallah had rarely been seen in public since 2006. He was elected secretary-general of Hezbollah in 1992, aged 32, after an Israeli helicopter gunship killed his predecessor, Abbas al-Musawi.

Here are some reactions to Nasrallah’s killing:

Hezbollah
The Lebanese group confirmed in a statement its leader had been killed “following the treacherous Zionist strike on the southern suburbs” of Beirut.

It said Nasrallah had “joined his great and immortal martyred comrades, whose path he led for nearly 30 years”.

The group said it pledged “to the highest, most sacred and most precious martyr in our journey” to “continue its jihad in confronting the enemy, in support of Gaza and Palestine, and in defence of Lebanon and its steadfast and honourable people”.

Israel
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had “settled the score” with Nasrallah’s killing.

“We settled the score with the one responsible for the murder of countless Israelis and many citizens of other countries, including hundreds of Americans and dozens of French,” he said in his first statement since the Hezbollah chief’s killing on Friday.

Netanyahu said that as long as “terrorist” Nasrallah was alive, he could have “quickly restore the capabilities we had eroded from Hezbollah” in a series of recent operations.

“So, I gave the order – and Nasrallah is no longer with us.”

Hamas
Hamas has condemned the killing of the Lebanese leader as a “cowardly, terrorist act” by Israel.

“We condemn in the strongest terms this barbaric Zionist aggression and targeting of residential buildings,” the group said in a statement, accusing Israel of disregarding “all international values, customs and charters” and “blatantly threaten[ing] international security and peace, in light of silence, helplessness and international neglect”.

“In the face of this Zionist crime and massacre, we renew our absolute solidarity and stand united with the brothers in Hezbollah and the Islamic resistance in Lebanon,” the group said.

United States
US President Joe Biden called the killing of Nasrallah “a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis and Lebanese civilians.”

Biden reiterated US support for “Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and any other Iranian-supported terrorist groups.” His statement said he had directed the defence secretary to “further enhance the defence posture of US military forces” in the region.

Fatah
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the “brutal Israeli aggression”.

The Palestinian Fatah movement offered condolences and emphasised “the historical relationship between the Lebanese people and their resistance and Palestine”.

Iran
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian issued a statement saying Nasrallah’s killing “will only further strengthen the resistance”. He added the US cannot deny complicity.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared five days of mourning for the Hezbollah chief. He called on all Muslims to rise against Israel and said Nasrallah’s blood “will not go unavenged”.

“The fate of this region will be determined by the resistance with Hezbollah at the top,” Khamenei said.

The country’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said in a post on X that “the glorious path of the Resistance leader … will continue and his sacred goal of liberating Jerusalem will be achieved.” Iranian Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif praised Nasrallah as a “symbol of the fight against oppression”.

Iraq
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani condemned the attack as “shameful” and “a crime that shows the Zionist entity has crossed all the red lines”.

In a statement, Sudani called Nasrallah “a martyr on the path of the righteous”, and declared a three-day mourning period.

It came shortly after influential Iraqi Shia Muslim leader Muqtada al-Sadr announced three days of mourning. The leader of the Sadrist movement in Iraq wrote on X: “Farewell to the companion of the path of resistance and defiance.”

Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israel’s recent attacks in Lebanon as part of what he called an Israeli policy of “genocide, occupation, and invasion”, urging the UN Security Council and other bodies to stop Israel.

In a post on X, Erdogan, without naming Nasrallah, said Turkey stood with the Lebanese people and its government, offering his condolences for those killed in the Israeli strikes, while saying the Muslim world should show a more “determined” stance.

Yemen’s Houthis
Yemen’s Houthi rebels said Nasrallah’s killing would strengthen their determination to confront their Israeli foes.

“The martyrdom of… Hassan Nasrallah will increase the flame of sacrifice, the heat of enthusiasm, the strength of resolve,” the rebels’ leadership council said in a statement, pledging to achieve “victory and the demise of the Israeli enemy”.

United Nations
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Saturday he was “gravely concerned” by the “dramatic escalation” seen in Lebanon in the past day as Israel targets Hezbollah in the capital Beirut, a UN spokesperson said.

“This cycle of violence must stop now, and all sides must step back from the brink. The people of Lebanon, the people of Israel, as well as the wider region, cannot afford an all-out war,” the statement said.

Guterres reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of all captives held there.

Germany
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock warned the situation in Lebanon is extremely dangerous and that the entire region could slip further into an “absolute spiral of violence”.

“The situation poses a serious threat to stability in the region, and the stability of Lebanon, and this never serves the security and interests of Israel,” Baerbock wrote on X.

France
The French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said in a statement that it is in contact with the Lebanese authorities and France’s partners in the region to prevent destabilisation and conflagration.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, a left-wing French politician and former Member of the European Parliament, said the assassination “is one more step towards the invasion of Lebanon and general war”.

In a post on X, he said: “France no longer counts on the ground. Netanyahu’s crimes will continue since they are unpunished. The danger is extreme for the region and the world.”

Russia
Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has released a statement where it strongly condemns Israel’s killing of Nasrallah and calls on Israel to stop hostilities in Lebanon.

“This forceful action is fraught with even greater dramatic consequences for Lebanon and the entire Middle East,” the statement said.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told the UN General Assembly he is concerned “by the now almost commonplace practice of political killings”.

Source: Al Jazeera 

BDST: 1015 HRS, SEPT 29, 2024
SMS