Israel on Saturday (September 28) said that it strikes in Lebanon have killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah. As per information released by Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the official handle of state of Israel on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Nasrallah died on Friday (September 27).
Although the initial information did not reveal where exactly Nasrallah was killed, reports in media suggested the militant group chief died in a strike inside Lebanese capital Beirut.
There was no immediate confirmation or refutation from Hezbollah. Israeli claim of death of Nasrallah, if confirmed, would represent a big blow to Hezbollah.
Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants have been trading fire since the outbreak of Israel-Hamas war on October 7 last year. Both sides have had skirmishes along Israel-Lebanon border. Israel even mobilised tanks.
However, things escalated last week as Israel intensified attacks inside Lebanon and even began to strike Beirut, something that was very rare and was considered an extraordinary move before that.
Israeli stepped up attacks against Hezbollah recently, especially after thousands of pagers unexpectedly exploded across Lebanon killing 37 and injuring thousands.
It was said that the Israeli spy agency Mossad was behind the pager explosions and the operation was carried out in order to cripple Hezbollah's communication capability. The militant group was said to have been relying on pagers for communication to escape surveillance.
Israel has been maintaining that its strikes inside Lebanon were aimed to target Hezbollah operatives and not Lebanese people. The IDF has been warning people to stay away from buildings and infrastructure used by Hezbollah saying these assets of the militant group may be targtted by Israel.
On Saturday, Israel issued another such warning. The IDF asked Lebanese people staying in Dahieh area of Beirut to 'move away from Hezbollah assets and facilities'.
