Lebanese resistance group Hezbollah announced in an official statement on Saturday, September 28 that the group’s Secretary-General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday. Nasrallah’s assassination came amidst an intense escalation of attacks by Israel against Lebanon which have killed over 1,000 in just a week.
In the official statement, Hezbollah declared that it pledges to “continue its jihad in confronting the enemy, supporting Gaza and Palestine, and defending Lebanon and its steadfast and honorable people.”
The assassination is seen as a massive escalation and expansion of Israel’s genocidal war and has sent a shockwave across the region and the world.
Friday’s massive bombing campaign on Beirut took place during the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City in which countless world leaders called on Israel to de-escalate its attacks on Palestine and Lebanon, warning that an expansion of the war would make the already devastating humanitarian crisis even more catastrophic.
On Thursday, September 26, the United States and France had presented Israel with a proposal for a 21-day temporary ceasefire with Hezbollah which was swiftly dismissed by Netanyahu who said that Israel would keep fighting against Hezbollah in Lebanon “with full force”.
On Friday, hours after shooting down yet another ceasefire proposal, Netanyahu addressed the UNGA and claimed that “Israel seeks peace, Israel yearns for peace.” He stated, “We face savage enemies who seek our annihilation, and we must defend ourselves against these savage murderers, [who] seek not only to destroy us but also destroy our common civilization and return all of us to a dark age of tyranny and terror.”
Hours later, while still in New York City, Netanyahu ordered the massive airstrike attack on Beirut which flattened six apartment buildings in the Southern Suburb. The massive impact made by the strikes, has led most analysts to believe that Israel used US-made 2,000 pound bunker-buster bombs.
Israel has been launching airstrikes against Lebanon since October 8, when Hezbollah began its precision attacks against Israeli military targets in solidarity with the Palestinian people. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, Israel has killed over 1,640 people and injured 8,408 since October 8. As the airstrikes continue against Beirut and areas in Southern Lebanon, the number is set to increase.
In the wake of the assassination, regional resistance groups have vehemently condemned Israel’s actions and vowed to continue their attacks against Israel as its genocidal war against Gaza expands to more of the region.
In a statement released on Saturday, the official spokesperson for Ansar Allah Movement said, “Thanks to his wise leadership, Israel and the arrogant powers have suffered consecutive defeats. His sacred blood will be a curse that haunts the Zionist entity until its eradication. The pain of Sayyed Nasrallah’s martyrdom will not weaken his brothers; instead, it will strengthen them to continue the path of resistance and jihad until final victory.”
Hamas, which has been resisting Israeli attacks for nearly a year in Gaza, also condemned the assassination and airstrikes and said in a statement, “We strongly condemn this barbaric zionist aggression and the targeting of residential buildings in Haret Hreik in the southern suburb of Beirut, considering it a cowardly terrorist act, a massacre, and a vile crime, reiterating the bloodiness and brutality of this occupation, a rogue entity that flouts all values, norms, and international treaties, blatantly threatening global security and peace amidst international silence and inaction.”
They added, “We are confident and certain that this crime and all the crimes of the occupation and its assassinations will only increase the determination and resolve of the resistance in Lebanon and in Palestine, to proceed with all strength, valor, and pride on the path of the martyrs, loyal to their sacrifices, following their approach and footsteps, and continuing the path of resistance and steadfastness until victory and the expulsion of the occupation.”
As of now, several key Lebanese political leaders have condemned the assassination and called for unity. Former Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said in a statement, “The assassination of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has plunged Lebanon and the region into a new phase of violence. This act is cowardly and fully condemned. In this extremely difficult phase, our unity and solidarity remain essential. Lebanon stands above all, transcending parties, sects, and interests, no matter what they are.”
Ali Abunimah, the executive director of the media outlet Electronic Intifada wrote, “This sobering moment is a turning point in the long regional war for liberation from racist, Western-backed settler-colonial Zionism. But after a century of Zionism’s depredations and horrors, neither the people of Lebanon nor Palestine have surrendered, and there’s no reason to believe they will now. On the contrary, after the initial shock, the determination of the resistance will only increase, and its circle will expand, as it has in every phase of the liberation struggle.”
Lebanese-American journalist Rania Khalek wrote on X, “They are creating a region and a world full of people who hate them and will never stop resisting the most violent military empire in history. They are wrong to think there won’t be huge consequences that are disastrous not just for their adversaries but for them as well in the region and beyond.”
