Israel continues to target Hezbollah commanders as adversaries threaten revenge
The Israeli military claimed to have killed a senior member of Hezbollah’s “intelligence array” a day after killing the militant group’s leader – stoking fears of an all-out regional war.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said Saturday its airstrike on the Dahiyeh area of Beirut eliminated Hassan Khalil Yassi who headed a unit in Hezbollah’s intelligence division that was tasked with locating Israeli military and civilian sites.
It came just one day after the IDF claimed attacks on the same suburb – where tens of thousands of residents live – killed Hezbollah’s leader and one of its founding members, Hassan Nasrallah. More than 80 bombs were dropped on Dahiyeh on Friday, over a period of several minutes, according to defence sources who spoke to the New York Times.
Sayyed Hashem Safieddine, Nasrallah’s cousin, has emerged as a frontrunner to succeed the former Hezbollah chief, i understands.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described Nasrallah as the “master murderer”. In his first public remarks since the killing, he said: “We settled accounts with those responsible for the murder of countless Israelis and many citizens of other countries, including hundreds of Americans and dozens of Frenchmen.”
“He and his people were the architects of the plan to destroy Israel. He was not only activated by Iran, many times he also activated Iran,” Mr Netanyahu added, before reiterating his promise to bring peace to northern Israel, which has been subjected to a long-running series of attacks by Hezbollah.
Nasrallah’s death, confirmed by Hezbollah on Saturday, sent shockwaves throughout the region where he has been a dominant political and military figure for more than three decades.
It has potentially far-reaching implications for the Middle East as Israel shifts its attention from its nearly year-old war with Iran-aligned Hamas in Gaza to operations against Hezbollah, amid fears that continued strikes on Lebanon could trigger a wider war that draws in Iran.
Hezbollah, considered a terrorist state by the US and the UK, is also backed by Iran and is seen as one of its most powerful proxies in the Middle East, and a potentially vital buffer with Israel.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader, responded to Nasrallah’s death, vowing that “the blood of the martyr shall not go unavenged.”
Tehran also announced on Saturday that a prominent general in its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard died in an air strike that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut.
Khamenei has been transferred to a secure location, with officials saying it is in constant contact with Hezbollah and other regional allies to determine “the next step”, sources have told Reuters.
A White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the news outlet they were not “exactly sure where things go from right now”.
In the midst of the uncertainty, Israel has refused to rule out further escalation.
The country’s defence minister held talks to assess the “operational situation” regarding his country’s military offensive on its northern front, Yoav Gallant’s office said in a statement.
A senior US official reportedly told ABC News that the IDF is preparing for a limited ground incursion into southern Lebanon.
Meanwhile, long-range rockets were launched from Lebanon overnight towards the Jerusalem area with sirens sounding in several West Bank settlements, east of the capital. It marked the deepest rocket fire carried out by Hezbollah amid the ongoing fighting, with sirens sounding in towns some 140 kilometres from the Lebanon border.
No injuries have yet to be reported.
The Houthis, another Iran-backed rebel group located in Yemen, said they fired a ballistic missile at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport upon Netanyahu’s arrival from America.
The group previously said the death of Nasrallah would not break their resistance and that “the Jihadist spirit of the Mujahideen brothers in Lebanon and on all fronts of support will grow stronger and bigger”.
Before the weekend, though, there had been hopes of a ceasefire, something Netanyahu later dashed.
The US, along with Western allies, including the UK, drew up a 21-day ceasefire proposal during the UN General Assembly in New York. America’s national security spokesperson, John Kirby, said the plan had been written with “careful consultation, not only with the countries that signed on to it, but Israel itself”.
In a speech to the UN, Netanyahu made no mention of the ceasefire, instead saying: “We will continue degrading Hezbollah”.
US President Joe Biden has called the Israeli strike that killed Hezbollah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah a “measure of justice for his many victims”.
He added: “The United States fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and any other Iranian-supported terrorist groups. Just yesterday, I directed my Secretary of Defense to further enhance the defense posture of U.S. military forces in the Middle East region to deter aggression and reduce the risk of a broader regional war.
“Ultimately, our aim is to de-escalate the ongoing conflicts in both Gaza and Lebanon through diplomatic means.”
Mr Biden’s words were echoed by Vice President Kamala Harris who stressed her “unwavering commitment to the security of Israel”, before adding: “President Biden and I do not want to see conflict in the Middle East escalate into a broader regional war.
“We have been working on a diplomatic solution along the Israel-Lebanon border so that people can safely return home on both sides of that border. Diplomacy remains the best path forward to protect civilians and achieve lasting stability in the region.”
The UK’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he had spoken with Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati, saying the pair had “agreed on the need for an immediate ceasefire to bring an end to the bloodshed”.
Around one million Lebanese have now been displaced by Israeli attacks and at least 50,000 civilians living in Lebanon have crossed into Syria fleeing airstrikes, the UN’s High Commissioner for Refugees said.
Over the past week, Israeli strikes have killed more than 700 people in Lebanon.
Thirty-three people were killed and 195 wounded in Israeli strikes on Lebanon on Saturday, the Lebanese health ministry said.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged for “this cycle of violence must stop now,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Saturday. “The people of Lebanon, the people of Israel, as well as the wider region, cannot afford an all-out war.”