LIVE UPDATES – 28/09/2024
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Hamas mourns Hezbollah leader’s killing
“We condemn in the strongest terms this barbaric Zionist aggression and the targeting of residential buildings … in the southern suburb of Beirut, and we consider this a cowardly act of terrorism, a massacre and a heinous crime, which proves once again the bloodiness and brutality of this occupation,” the group added.
Hamas hailed Nasrallah’s support of the Palestinian cause and also condemned the US for supporting Israel.
“History has proven that the resistance against the Zionist enemy, in all its factions and places of presence, whenever its leaders go as martyrs, has a generation of leaders to lead them on the same path,” the group also said.
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IDF spokesperson says Nasrallah’s death ‘makes the world a safer place’
“Nasrallah was one of Israel’s greatest enemies, of all time. He posed a threat to Israeli citizens for decades, and his elimination makes the world a safer place,” he says.
“It’s not over, Hezbollah has more capabilities,” Hagari says, noting that fighter jets are currently hitting the terror group across Lebanon.
Along with his remarks in Hebrew, Hagari also gives an English-language statement:
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Iran vows Nasrallah’s path to continue despite death
“The glorious path of the leader of the resistance, Hassan Nasrallah, will continue and his sacred goal will be realized in the liberation of Quds [Jerusalem], God willing,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani writes in a post on social media X mourning his death.
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Iraq declares three days of mourning after Nasrallah killing
“To God we belong and to Him we shall return,” a statement said.
It came shortly after influential Iraqi Shia Muslim leader Muqtada al-Sadr also announced three days of mourning.
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A closer look at type of weaponry believed to have been used in Beirut attack
Also known as “ground penetration munition”, these missiles burrow deep into the ground before they detonate.
They have the power to destroy underground facilities and reinforced concrete buildings.
The bombs each weigh between 2,000 and 4,000 pounds.
They can penetrate 30 metres of earth or six metres of concrete and also create shockwaves that can collapse other structures.
The Geneva Convention outlaws the use of these bombs in densely populated areas due to the risk of mass and indiscriminate casualties.
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Killing of Nasrallah marks big change for Hezbollah
I don’t think many people foresaw this coming so soon.
Nasrallah had an aura and an influence – if he called people to go to the streets, they went to the streets.
This is all going to be different from now on.
A new leadership will rise but the new set of commanders might not be announced. This will make it harder for the party itself but also for Israel in terms of understanding who is in control.
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‘Hezbollah’s infrastructure secure, Beirut always weakest point’
Mohammad Marandi, a professor at the University of Tehran, has told Al Jazeera that Israel “does not have the capability to defeat Hezbollah militarily”. Here’s more of what he said:
◾️ Hezbollah has many thousands of kilometres of tunnels across the country. Their infrastructure is secure, their military is prepared.
◾️ Beirut has always been Hezbollah’s weakest point, because that’s where all the Western embassies, NGOs are, that’s where people who are affiliated with Western intelligence agencies are.
◾️ “I think the Israeli regime is really destroying the collective West.”
◾️ This is not just about Israel. The West is bringing itself down. Electronic goods from Western companies are all suspect now.
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More from Hezbollah’s statement on Nasrallah’s assassination
The Lebanese group has confirmed that its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has been killed.
Here are some highlights from the statement:
◾️ His Eminence, the Master of Resistance, the righteous servant, has passed away to be with his Lord and to His pleasure as a great martyr,
◾️ His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary-General of Hezbollah, has joined his great, immortal martyr comrades whose path he led for nearly thirty years, during which he led them from victory to victory.
◾️ We offer our condolences … to Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei, may his shadow endure, the great authorities, the mujahideen, the believers, the nation of resistance, our patient and struggling Lebanese people, the entire Islamic nation, all the free and oppressed people in the world, and his honorable and patient family.
◾️ We offer our condolences and congratulations to his fellow martyrs who joined his pure and holy procession following the treacherous Zionist raid on the southern suburb.
◾️ The leadership of Hezbollah pledges … that it will continue its jihad in confronting the enemy, in support of Gaza and Palestine, and in defense of Lebanon and its steadfast and honorable people.
◾️ To the honorable mujahideen and the victorious and triumphant heroes of the Islamic Resistance, you are the trust of the beloved martyr Sayyid [Nasrallah].
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yesterday.Israel carried out a massive strike on Beirut Friday evening, which it said killed Nasrallah.
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France confirms Hezbollah chief Nasrallah killed in Israeli strike
The Iran-backed Hezbollah has yet to issue any statement on the status of Nasrallah, its leader for 32 years.
“According to the information we have, Hassan Nasrallah, secretary general of Hezbollah, would indeed have died,” the French Foreign Ministry says in a statement.
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ISRAELI ARMY ANNOUNCES KILLING OF HEZBOLLAH LEADER
The Israeli military said on Saturday that it had killed Hassan Nasrallah, the longtime leader of Hezbollah, in an airstrike on the organization’s underground headquarters near Beirut on Friday. Read more:
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What kind of bombs did Israel use in Beirut attack?
Al Jazeera has spoken to military and security analyst Elijah Magnier about the type of bombs that were used in the massive Israeli attack on Beirut yesterday.
Here’s what he said:
“We have a piece of information provided by the Israeli air forces when they said they have used 85 tonnes of explosive, of which every bomb weighed one tonne. So this is a very valuable piece of information.
“First of all that has indeed created a kind of an earthquake in Beirut. I talked to many people all over Beirut, they all felt it like next door, and that is really devastating in an urban city like Beirut.
“But what kind of bomb have they used?
“We have only two choices or the combination of two bombs.
“Either the GBU-31 JDAM [Joint Direct Attack Munition] that is developed by the Americans and exists in the Israeli arsenal. They [the US] have delivered thousands of these bombs and they have been used in Gaza against numerous targets.
“And the other one is the Spice 2000 that is developed by the Israeli manufacturer Rafael.
“And I think the combination of the two bombs can create the effect that we have seen – a crater in the suburb of Beirut, in that location, where all the buildings collapsed inside the crater.
“This is why it’s going to take a very long time to discover and recover all the bodies inside.”
Supreme leader’s message ‘clear sign of solidarity’ with Hezbollah, Palestinians
“In a previous message, he also put emphasis on his belief of the structural strengths of Hezbollah and he is now calling for more consensus among Muslim countries in order to provide the Israelis with a crushing response,” Asadi told Al Jazeera.
“No plan of action here in this message – that is something that nobody is expecting – him to spill the beans – about the forthcoming plan of action,” Asadi said, noting that confirmation of the killing of Nasrallah would be “a very tragic event” for both Hezbollah and Iran.
“So we have to wait for the next hours and days to see what takes place on the ground,” he added.
Iran’s Khamenei condemns ‘short-sighted’ Israeli policy
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said in a statement “the massacre of defenceless people in Lebanon once again revealed the savage nature” of Israel and proved “the short-sightedness” of its leaders.
He said in a statement that the Israeli government did not learn from its actions in Gaza that “the collective killing of women, children, and civilians cannot weaken or overthrow the strong foundation of the resistance organisation”.
He called on Muslims “to stand by the people of Lebanon and the proud Hezbollah with whatever means they have and assist them in confronting the … wicked regime [of Israel]”.
Khamenei also said that “the fate of this region will be determined by the forces of resistance, with Hezbollah at the forefront”.
Lebanon blocked Iranian plane after Israeli threat
Lebanese National News Agency says that the control tower at the Beirut Airport informed the Iranian plane, which was a cargo plane, that it had received a threat from the Israeli military that it would be bombed if it landed.
The plane then turned back towards Tehran.
Reuters news agency reports that Lebanon’s transport ministry stopped the plane from landing after Israel warned air traffic control at Beirut airport that it would use “force” if the plane landed, according to a source at the ministry.
The source told the agency it was not clear what was on the plane.
“The priority is people’s lives,” the source added.
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Reportedly Moved To Secure Location Under Heightened Security
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been transferred to a secure location inside Iran with heightened security measures in place, two regional officials briefed by Tehran told Reuters.
The sources said Iran was in constant contact with Lebanon’s Hezbollah and other regional proxy groups to determine the next step after Israel announced that it had killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a strike on south Beirut on September 27.
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More on latest Israeli attacks on Lebanon
The agency also reported that an Israeli aircraft attacked the outskirts of the Tayr Debba town in the southern district of Tyre, and a car on the Dahr al-Baydar mountain pass that links Beirut and Damascus on the edge of the Bekaa Valley.
There was also a raid on the coastal line near the southern town of Aadloun against a building, NNA said.
It was not yet clear if these attacks led to any deaths.
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Hezbollah announces more attacks on Israel
It said that it targeted a group of Israeli soldiers at the “al-Sadah” military site with artillery shells, and fired rocket salvoes at the northern Israeli towns of Sa’ar near the Mediterranean coast and Rosh Pina near the occupied Golan Heights.
The Israeli army has yet to comment on these attacks.
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‘There are more tools to go,’ IDF chief says after military confirms it killed Hezbollah leader
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) chief, Herzl Halevi, has given comments following the confirmation of Hassan Nasrallah’s death.
“Whoever threatens the state of Israel, we’ll know how to get to him: in the north, in the south and in more distant places,” he said in quotes carried by Hareetz, the Israeli daily.
“This is not the last of the toolbox, there are more tools to go,” he said, adding that the IDF is prepared on all fronts.
Halevi said that the attack on Beirut that killed Nasrallah was planned for a long time and “came at the right time in a very sharp way”.
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Israel calls up more reserve units
Israel’s military says it has mobilised three reserve battalions to boost its Central Command defence.
The army had earlier in the week sent two battalions to northern Israel to train for a possible ground invasion of Lebanon.
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Photos: The aftermath of Israeli strikes in Beirut
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‘Extremely hard for resistance supporters to accept Nasrallah assassination’
Netanyahu hailed as hero in Israel amid Lebanon strikes
“The Israelis love these images of buildings, highrises collapsing in an Arab capital,” Akiva Eldar, political analyst at the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, told Al Jazeera. “It shows that the Jews have the best army.”
“Netanyahu is now the great hero of Israel,” Eldar said, adding that the prime minister was projecting an image of a victorious leader who will return the residents of northern Israel to their homes without bending to the will of the United States, which has called for a ceasefire in Lebanon.
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Iran calls out world for silence on Israeli assaults
He also slammed the US for its “full military, political and economic support” to Israel’s “criminal regime”.
The US continues to provide billions of dollars in military aid to Israel, even as it urges it publicly to cease its war on Gaza and its strikes on Lebanon.
“The smoke of the world’s inaction towards the crimes of the terrible and rebellious Israeli regime will be seen by the whole world in the near future”, the spokesperson’s statement concludes.
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Israeli army announces killing of Hezbollah leader
The Israeli army has officially announced the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Nasrallah, who had been the leader of the Iran-backed militant group for 32 years, was reported to have been the target of Friday’s strikes on Beirut.
In a post on X, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said he “will no longer be able to terrorize the world”.
Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) September 28, 2024
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Lebanon’s airport denies entry to Iranian plane
Israel has said its warplanes are patrolling the area near Beirut’s airport to make sure it is used for “civilian purposes only”, in a tacit threat to bomb it.
During the 2006 war, Israeli forces bombed the Beirut airport.
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Worry among Hezbollah members over fate of group leader
There has been no confirmation from Hezbollah on the alleged killing of its leader Hassan Nasrallah, but I can tell you, his supporters are worried.
This is a man who has a lot of support, especially among his Shia constituency in Lebanon. They see him as a father figure, a religious leader and as a man who has improved their standing in Lebanon.
At the same time, Hezbollah is a non-state actor that is better armed than the Lebanese state and this has earned it enemies in the country.
The last speech Nasrallah gave was prerecorded and he knew he was being hunted down.
If the news of his death is true, this will be a political earthquake in Lebanon.
‘Anyone who threatens Israel – we will know how to reach them’: Israeli army
The Israeli army’s chief of staff says it has not emptied its “toolbox” with its claimed killing of Nasrallah.
“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,” Chief of the General Staff Herzi Halevi said in a statement.
Israel’s military claims to have killed the Hezbollah chief after a series of attacks in the capital of Beirut, amid an intensifying bombing campaign that has killed more than 700 people in Lebanon since Monday.
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Iranians stage protests against Israel in Tehran
Iranians have taken to the streets of the capital Tehran to denounce the attacks carried out by Israel in Lebanon this past week and the ongoing war in Gaza.
Demonstrators assembled in Palestine Square waved flags and held up posters of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iranian leaders.
“The message is clear, revenge and revenge… the patience of people is coming to an end and we want nothing but revenge,” protester Mohammad Mousavi told Al Jazeera.
“There must be an answer, and it must be very soon because I don’t think people can wait any longer.”
Mousavi said the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, if confirmed, would “bring Israel’s end closer” by increasing rage towards the country.
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Eleven medical staff killed in Israeli attacks on south Lebanon
These attacks were carried out on the towns of Taybeh and Deir Siriane, close to the Israeli border.
Israel’s attacks on Lebanon have killed more than 700 people since Monday.
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More on Israel’s claim of Hezbollah leader’s killing
The Israeli army says it eliminated the leader of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah.
Yesterday, the army killed the leader of the “terrorist organisation” – these are Israeli words – and one of its founders. The army also killed Ali Karaki, the commander of the southern front of the organisation, and a number of other Hezbollah leaders.
[Israel’s statement] goes on to say air force planes with precise intelligence guidance from the security establishment raided what they said at the time were Hezbollah’s central headquarters, located underground, of course, in that densely populated area of Dahiyeh when those strikes hit – 10 or 12 in quick succession.
When we watched that unfold, there was no doubt that the target was a major one. Soon after, we had leaks stating that Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, in charge of the group for 32 years, had been there at the time.
We still haven’t had any official word from Hezbollah, but this just in from the Israeli army.
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IDF says operation to kill Nasrallah was code named ‘New Order’
The IDF operation to assassinate Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was named “New Order,” the military says.
The military releases images from the Israeli Air Force’s underground command center during the airstrikes on Beirut yesterday.
IDF says top Hezbollah leaders killed alongside Nasrallah in strike on Hezbollah HQ
In a statement, the IDF says that alongside Nasrallah, the commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front, Ali Karaki, was also killed, along with other commanders.
Nasrallah was targeted while at Hezbollah’s main headquarters in the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold known as the Dahiyeh.
The headquarters is underground, beneath residential buildings in the Dahiyeh, the IDF says.
“The strike was carried out while the top brass of Hezbollah were at their headquarters and engaged in coordinating activities against the citizens of the State of Israel,” the military says.
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