Hezbollah confirms leader Nasrallah killed in Israeli airstrikes on Beirut's southern suburbs

BEIRUT/GAZA -- Hezbollah confirmed on Saturday that its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was killed in the Israeli airstrikes targeting the militant group's command headquarters a day earlier in Dahieh, Beirut's southern suburbs.

In a statement, the group mourned Nasrallah, describing him as "a great martyr" and "a heroic, bold, brave, wise, insightful, and faithful leader" for nearly 30 years, who lately led in "the battle for Palestine, Gaza, and the oppressed Palestinian people."

Shortly after Hezbollah confirmed Nasrallah's death, Hamas issued a statement offering its "sincere condolences, sympathy, and solidarity to the brotherly Lebanese people" and its "brothers in Hezbollah and the Islamic Resistance in Lebanon."

It also condemned the Israeli airstrikes on Dahieh as "a cowardly terrorist act, a massacre and a heinous crime" that proves once again Israel's "bloodiness and brutality."

Hamas held Israel fully responsible for "this heinous crime and its serious repercussions on the security and stability of the region," and condemned the U.S. administration's "continued support" for Israel.

On Friday evening, Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes on Hezbollah's main headquarters in Dahieh, which, according to a statement by the Israel Defense Forces earlier on Saturday, killed Nasrallah and some other commanders of the armed group.

The raids flattened several residential buildings, resulting in at least six deaths, 91 injuries, and significant infrastructure damage in the neighborhood, according to Lebanon's MTV TV channel.

Israel has intensified its airstrikes across Lebanon since Monday, marking the most extensive Israeli military action in the country since 2006.

This marks the latest escalation of the ongoing clashes that began on Oct 8, 2023, when Hezbollah started launching rockets at Israel in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, prompting Israel's retaliatory artillery fire and airstrikes in southeastern Lebanon.