Lebanon's Hezbollah militant group confirmed Saturday that its longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday.
Israeli officials announced Friday that Nasrallah was believed to be dead after his underground hideout was targeted in a massive airstrike. In a statement release Saturday, Hezbollah confirmed that their leader "has joined his fellow martyrs." The group further vowed to "continue the holy war against the enemy and in support of Palestine."
Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah for more than three decades, is the most high-profile target to be eliminated by Israeli strikes amidst intensified fighting in Lebanon in recent weeks. The Israeli Defense Forces have eliminated several high-profile Hezbollah targets without launching a ground operation, a stunning accomplishment.
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Israeli officials announced that the precise airstrike that killed Nasrallah took place on Friday while Hezbollah leadership were meeting at their headquarters in Dahiyeh, south of Beirut.
The Lebanese Health Ministry said six people were killed and 91 injured in the strikes, which destroyed six buildings in total. Ali Karki, the commander of Hezbollah's Southern Front and other senior commanders were also killed in the strikes, according to Israeli military officials.
In addition, Iran announced Saturday that a prominent general in its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was also killed in the same airstrike. Abbas Nilforushan, 58, who the U.S. identified as the deputy commander for operations in the Guard, was killed Friday, Iran's IRNA news agency reported.
Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, a spokesman for the Israeli Army, stated that Friday's strikes was based on years of tracking Nasrallah along with "real time information" that made it possible. He declined to say what munitions were used in the strike or provide an estimate on civilian deaths, Newsmax reported.
The strikes represent a massive escalation in Israel's war against Hamas and its allies, including Hezbollah. The group, which was formed in the wake of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in the 1980's, has seen its senior command largely decimated as a result of the strikes.
Israel has vowed to continue its attacks in Hezbollah targets so long as rockets and mortars are fired on Israeli territory.
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