Live: Israel says it killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in ...
The Israeli military says it has killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an air strike on southern Beirut on Friday night, local time.
Follow the aftermath of the announcement on our live blog.
Key Events
Nasrallah's assassination another major escalation in the Middle East
22 minutes agoSat 28 Sep 2024 at 9:49am
Israel says it killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut strike
2 hours agoSat 28 Sep 2024 at 8:11am
Key Event
22m agoSat 28 Sep 2024 at 9:49am
The ABC's Middle East correspondent Allyson Horn says the assassination of Nasrallah signals another major escalation in the conflict between Israel and its opponents.
"Effectively now, Hezbollah's entire leadership has been eliminated," she says.
"Israel over the last few weeks has been crumbling that leadership through assassinations and air strikes.
"The question now is whether or not Iran, the major Hezbollah backer, will step into this fight … potentially catapulting this into a full-out regional war."
37m agoSat 28 Sep 2024 at 9:35am
Nasrallah built Hezbollah into a significant political and military forceHassan Nasrallah has been the secretary-general of Hezbollah for more than three decades, after assuming control of the group in 1992.
Sitting at the top of the militant group, he controlled all of the terrorist organisation's decisions, including political and military moves.
Nasrallah during a news conference in 2008.(al-Manar TV via Reuters)During his time leading the group, the 64-year-old Beirut-born cleric built the organisation into a potent force, with significant political sway over a fractured Lebanon.
While weakened by Israel's recent attacks, Hezbollah also remains a significant fighting force, with the wherewithal to strike into the heart of Israel's second-largest city, Tel Aviv.
The 64-year-old had avoided public appearances for much of his time in office, over fears he would be assassinated.
55m agoSat 28 Sep 2024 at 9:16am
The IDF briefing has now ended, here's a recapBy Riley Stuart in Jerusalem
Israel's military just held a Zoom meeting with reporters, shortly after it released a statement saying it had "eliminated" Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah in its strikes on Beirut on Friday night.
The IDF spokesperson made a statement where they again confirmed Nasrallah was deadThey said the confirmation that he had been killed had come only recently. They provided no details of what that confirmation wasThey then took questions, some of which they answered clearlyThe spokesperson again said that the attack that killed Nasrallah had been on Hezbollah's headquarters, which was located in several residential buildingsThey could not provide what sort of specific assessments had been done with regard to civilian casualties before the attackHe said the IDF was expecting retaliation from either Hezbollah or Iran because of the attackHe said the IDF hoped killing Nasrallah would "change Hezbollah's actions"He said the IDF would continue to attack parts of Lebanon where it believed Hezbollah assets and fighters were located1h agoSat 28 Sep 2024 at 9:09am
IDF describes 'eliminating' Nasrallah as 'important step'By Riley Stuart in Jerusalem
The IDF spokesperson says Hassan Nasrallah was "one of the most driven people in Hezbollah".
"He is not only the strategic leader but he was involved in tactical plans to murder Israelis," the spokesperson said.
"We believe eliminating him is an important step."
1h agoSat 28 Sep 2024 at 9:06am
'Most of the senior leaders of Hezbollah have been eliminated'By Riley Stuart in Jerusalem
The IDF is now being asked about what impact it thinks eliminating Hezbollah's senior leaders will have for the militant group.
The military's spokesperson says the IDF is focussing on three objectives:
1.Removing Hezbollah's weapons2.Eliminating the organisation's leaders3.Pushing Hezbollah away from southern Lebanon"Most of the senior leaders of Hezbollah have been eliminated," the spokesperson said.
He says the IDF believes this will have a major impact on the group's ability to plan attacks.
1h agoSat 28 Sep 2024 at 9:00am
The IDF is now being asked about what retaliations it is expectingBy Riley Stuart in Jerusalem
The spokesperson has just been asked about what assessments with regard to retaliation the IDF did before launching the strike on Beirut last night.
"Are we ready for a wider escalation? Yes," he said.
The spokesperson points out retaliation could come from multiple sources, including Iran, which backs Hezbollah.
"These are tense days, we've seen Hezbollah carry out attacks on us for a year, and it's safe to assume they are going to keep trying to carry out terror attacks on us," the spokesperson said.
Currently the official safety guidelines for Israeli citizens remains the same.
1h agoSat 28 Sep 2024 at 8:54am
'We hope this will change Hezbollah's actions': IDFBy Riley Stuart in Jerusalem
The IDF spokesperson who is giving a press briefing says "we hope this will change Hezbollah's actions".
He's speaking after the military said it had killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an air strike in Beirut last night.
"We have been looking for solutions, looking for a change in reality," the IDF spokesperson said.
1h agoSat 28 Sep 2024 at 8:49am
The IDF is being asked about civilian casualties nowBy Riley Stuart in Jerusalem
Shortly after the IDF carried out its strikes on Friday night in Beirut, it released a video message which confirmed the attack had been on several residential buildings. It claimed the Hezbollah headquarters was embedded in them.
The buildings were completely destroyed, and as part of today's briefing the IDF has been asked whether it knows how many civilian casualties there may be.
"I don't know yet about collateral damage," the IDF spokesperson said in Saturday morning's briefing.
1h agoSat 28 Sep 2024 at 8:47am
'We have a wide set of tools, and we are ready to use them'By Riley Stuart in Jerusalem
The spokesperson said the IDF had only received confirmation that Nasrallah had been eliminated "a short time ago".
The spokesperson made a brief statement and is now taking questions.
He says the IDF was unable to provide specific details of what the future of its attacks in Lebanon would look like. He did not comment on whether there would be a ground invasion.
"We have a wide set of tools, and we are ready to use them," he said.
1h agoSat 28 Sep 2024 at 8:44am
The IDF briefing has begunBy Riley Stuart in Jerusalem
The IDF is providing a press briefing. Its spokesperson has again confirmed that Hassan Nasrallah — Hezbollah's secretary-general — has been killed.
"He was a real threat, with the blood of thousands of people on his hands," the spokesperson said.
The military official said he was born in 1992. He points out Nasrallah has been Hezbollah's leader for his entire life.
The spokesperson said Hezbollah's headquarters was embedded in residential buildings in Beirut's south.
1h agoSat 28 Sep 2024 at 8:33am
This is the first major update about Nasrallah's conditionBy Riley Stuart in Jerusalem
Last night, after the IDF bombed several residential buildings in southern Beirut — which it said contained the Hezbollah headquarters — we heard nothing about who the strike was targetting specifically.
But the IDF's previous strikes in Lebanon's capital have been aimed at taking out the militant organisation's leadership.
There were multiple reports from Arabic and Israeli media outlets last night claiming Hassan Nasrallah was the target of this attack.
Israel has been after him for decades.
Hezbollah has not commented on Israel's claims that they've killed Nasrallah.
Hassan Nasrallah makes a point on television earlier this year.(Reuters)Key Event
1h agoSat 28 Sep 2024 at 8:29am
The IDF says it carried out Friday's air strike while Hezbollah leadership met at the group's central headquarters in Dahiyeh, south of Beirut.
In addition to killing Nasrallah, the IDF says, the attack also killed Ali Karki, the commander of Hezbollah's southern front, and other Hezbollah commanders.
The Lebanese health ministry earlier said six people had been killed and 91 injured in the attacks, which levelled six apartment buildings.
1h agoSat 28 Sep 2024 at 8:22am
IDF to provide a briefing in 10 minutesThe Israel Defense Forces (IDF) says it will provide a more detailed briefing on the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in about 10 minutes.
The initial announcement was made by Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi, the IDF's chief of the general staff.
"This is not the end of our toolbox. The message is simple — anyone who threatens the citizens of Israel — we will know how to reach them," General Halevi said.
Key Event
2h agoSat 28 Sep 2024 at 8:11am
Good evening,
We're restarting our live coverage of the Middle East conflict with major news out of Israel and Lebanon.
The Israel Defense Forces says its strike on a residential area of southern Beirut yesterday killed Hassan Nasrallah, the long-serving leader of Hezbollah.
We'll keep you up to date as events unfold.
