Israeli army says Hezbollah chief killed in Beirut strike

The Israeli military has said that Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was killed in a strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah has yet to issue any statement on the status of Nasrallah, its leader for 32 years.

If confirmed, Nasrallah's death would mark a major blow not only to Hezbollah but also its backers in Iran.

He has long been a leading figure in the Tehran-backed "Axis of Resistance", helping to project Iranian influence across the Middle East.

The Israeli military said in a statement that Nasrallah was eliminated in a "targeted strike" on the group's underground headquarters under a residential building in Dahiyeh - a Hezbollah-controlled southern suburb of Beirut.

It said he was killed along with another top Hezbollah leader - Ali Karaki - and other commanders.

"The strike was conducted while Hezbollah's senior chain of command were operating from the headquarters and advancing terrorist activities against the citizens of the State of Israel," it said.

Yesterday's airstrike on Dahiyeh shook Beirut. A security source in Lebanon said the attack - a quick succession of massively powerful blasts - had left a crater at least 20 metres deep.

The attack, followed today by further airstrikes on Dahiyeh and other parts of Lebanon, have escalated the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.

The escalation has sharply increased fears the conflict could spin out of control, potentially drawing in Iran, Hezbollah's principal backer, as well as the United States.

Late yesterday, a source close to Hezbollah told Reuters that Nasrallah was not reachable.

Death toll rises

Hours before the latest barrage, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the United Nations that his country had a right to continue the campaign.

"As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice, and Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their homes safely," he said.

Several delegations walked out as Mr Netanyahu approached the lectern. The Israeli leader later cut short his New York trip to return to Israel.

Lebanese health authorities confirmed that six people were dead and 91 wounded in the initial attack - the fourth on Beirut's Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs in a week and the heaviest since a 2006 war.

The toll appeared likely to rise much higher. There was no word on casualties from the later strikes. More than 700 people were killed in strikes over the past week, authorities said.

Hezbollah's al-Manar television reported seven buildings were destroyed. Security sources in Lebanon said the target was an area where top Hezbollah officials are usually based.

The Israeli military had told residents in parts of Beirut's southern suburbs to evacuate as it targeted missile launchers and weapons storage sites it said were under civilian housing.

Hezbollah denied any weapons or arms depots were located in buildings that were hit in the Beirut suburbs, the Lebanese armed group's media office said in a statement.

Around 100,000 people in Lebanon have been displaced this week, increasing the number uprooted in the country to well over 200,000.

Israel's government has said that returning some 70,000 Israeli evacuees to their homes is a war aim.

Fears that fighting will spread

Hezbollah has fired hundreds of rockets and missiles against targets in Israel, including Tel Aviv. The group said it fired rockets at the northern Israeli city of Safed, where a woman was treated for minor injuries.

Israel's air defence systems have ensured the damage has so far been minimal.

Iran, which said the attack on Beirut crossed "red lines", accused Israel of using US-made "bunker-busting" bombs.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Washington was not informed of that strike beforehand. President Joe Biden was being kept abreast of developments.

At the UN, where the annual General Assembly met this week, the intensification prompted expressions of concern including by France, which with the US has proposed a 21-day ceasefire.

"This must be brought to an end immediately," French Ambassador Nicolas de Riviere told a Security Council meeting.

At a New York press conference, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said: "We believe the way forward is through diplomacy, not conflict... We will continue to work intentionally with all parties to urge them to choose that course."

Hezbollah opened the latest bout in a decades-long conflict with a missile barrage against Israel immediately following the 7 October attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza last year.

Nasrallah led Hezbollah through decades of conflict with Israel
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