BEIRUT: Israel said on Saturday it had killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday. Israel’s attack took place soon after Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu ended his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The Lebanese Shia political party and militant group confirmed the death a few hours later.
According to experts, Nasrallah’s assassination dealt a severe blow to Hezbollah. Nasrallah was the group’s leader for the last three decades.
Israel’s targeted strike at Nasrallah split global opinion. While the US called it a “measure of justice”, Iran and Iraq glorified his death as martyrdom.
Biden: ‘A measure of justice’
US President Joe Biden called Hassan Nasrallah’s death “a measure of justice”. Although he favoured de-escalation of the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon “through diplomatic means,” the 81-year-old announced that the United States endorsed “Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and any other Iranian-supported terrorist groups.”
“Hassan Nasrallah and the terrorist group he led, Hezbollah, were responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade reign of terror. His death from an Israeli airstrike is a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians,” read the official statement from President Joe Biden.
It was time for “the threats to Israel to be removed, and for the broader Middle East region to gain greater stability,” the statement concluded.
Harris: ‘Nasrallah had American blood on his hands’
“Hassan Nasrallah was a terrorist with American blood on his hands. Across decades, his leadership of Hezbollah destabilized the Middle East and led to the killing of countless innocent people in Lebanon, Israel, Syria, and around the world,” reads the statement by Presidential nominee Kamala Harris.
“Today, Hezbollah’s victims have a measure of justice,” Harris’s statement added, borrowing Biden’s words.
Netanyahu: ‘Settled the score’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech on Friday at the 79th session of the UN General Assembly. He vowed to keep up operations against Hezbollah until tens of thousands of Israeli citizens displaced by rocket attacks returned home. Israel carried out the strike killing Nasrallah right after Netanyahu’s speech, according to Reuters.
“Nasrallah was not a terrorist, he was the terrorist,” Netanyahu said in a statement, warning of challenging days ahead, per a report by Reuters.
“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,” Netanyahu added as he broke silence on the killing of Nasrallah.
Hezbollah: ‘Nasrallah joins the convoy of martyrs’
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV, in an official statement, said, “His eminence, master of the resistance, the righteous servant, has passed away as a great martyr, leader, hero, wise and faithful. He joined the convoy of martyrs of the eternal luminous Karbala in this divine path which echoes the path of martyred prophets and Imams.
The statement also said that Hezbollah’s leadership promises to “continue the path of jihad against the enemy, in support of Gaza and Palestine, and in defense of Lebanon and its steadfast and honorable people.”
Palestine: ‘Deep condolences to Lebanon’
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas mourned Nasrallah’s death. According to The Times of Israel, Abbas “offered his deep condolences to the Lebanese government and the brotherly Lebanese people, on the martyrdom of the civilian victims who fell as a result of the brutal Israeli aggression.”
Iran: ‘Lebanon will shine like the sun’
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Nasrallah achieved martyrdom in his death. “The tainted elder is sitting on the heart of all the oppressed in the world,” he wrote on X.
“I congratulate and offer my condolences to the martyrdom of Mujahideen, Martyr Syed Hasan Nasrallah, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution and all the oppressed and free people of the world,” he said.
“Hezbollah Lebanon will shine like the sun more than ever,” he added.
Iraq: ‘A martyr on path of righteous’
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani called the attack on Lebanon “shameful” and “a crime that shows the Zionist entity has crossed all the red lines”.
Sudani also 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: ‘Israel’s attempt to spread insane politics must be stopped’
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemned the assassination on X.
“Israel’s attempts to spread the insane politics it has implemented in Gaza and Ramallah to Lebanon and other countries in the region must now be stopped,” he said.
“We call on all structures whose duty is to ensure global peace, stability and security, especially the United Nations Security Council, and all human rights organizations to take swift action. We believe that the Islamic world must take a more determined stance against these attacks,” he added.
Erdoğan said Turkey would continue to stand by the Lebanese people and government.
China: ‘Oppose the infringement of Lebanon’s sovereignty’
In the wake of the killing of Nasrallah, the Chinese Foreign Ministry was “deeply concerned over the escalation of tensions in the region.”
“China opposes the infringement on Lebanon’s sovereignty and security, opposes and condemns any action against innocent civilians, and opposes any move that fuels antagonism and escalates regional tensions,” the Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said.
Hamas: ‘Assassination only increases resistance’
Hamas mourned the death of Nasrallah.
“Crimes and assassination by the occupation will only increase the determination and the insistence of the resistance in Palestine and Lebanon to go forward with all their might, bravery and pride on the footsteps of the martyrs…and pursue the path of resistance until victory and the dismissal of the occupation,” Hamas said in a statement, as per Reuters.
Yemen: ‘Jihadist spirit of Lebanon will grow stronger’
Yemen’s Houthis stood in solidarity with Lebanon. “The resistance will not be broken, and the Jihadist spirit of the Mujahideen brothers in Lebanon and on all fronts of support will grow stronger and bigger,” said the Yemen-based extremist Shia group.
The Iran-backed Houthis have been firing missiles at Israel since the outbreak of the war and have targeted commercial ships in the Red Sea.
India: ‘Solidarity with martyrs in Lebanon’
In India, the former chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir and leader of the People’s Democratic Party said she cancelled her scheduled campaign before the third phase of the Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Cancelling my campaign tomorrow in solidarity with the martyrs of Lebanon & Gaza, especially Hassan Nasarullah,” she wrote on X.
Kashmiri Shia Muslim protesters shout anti-Israeli and anti-U.S slogans during their protest march against the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Israeli airstrikes in Beirut, Lebanon, at Magam in Budgam district of Central Kashmir, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. PTI
“We stand with the people of Palestine & Lebanon in this hour of immense grief & exemplary resistance,” she added.
Agencies

Agencies