A senior Hezbollah security official recently disclosed that Hassan Nasrallah, the long-standing leader of Hezbollah, was killed last year during an Israeli airstrike in Beirut.
Known for his leadership since the early 1990s, Hassan Nasrallah met his end during an Israeli airstrike that targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut on September 27, 2023. The attack, part of a series of strikes, resulted in the flattening of several buildings. The Lebanese Health Ministry confirmed that six individuals, including Nasrallah, perished in the attack. His presence in an underground war operations room at the time of the strike was confirmed by a high-ranking Hezbollah official, Wafiq Safa, who spoke at a recent news conference near the attack site. Safa mentioned that Nasrallah died in the operations room, but details remain sparse.
Nasrallah’s death marked a significant turning point in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. His leadership of Hezbollah for 32 years played a pivotal role in the militant group’s operations and strategies. The assassination escalated the low-level strikes into a full-scale war, heavily impacting southern and eastern Lebanon for almost two months. This period of intense conflict only halted with a U.S.-brokered ceasefire on November 27, 2023. The ceasefire terms mandated the relocation of Hezbollah fighters and infrastructure away from southern Lebanon, north of the Litani River, and required Israel to withdraw its troops within a 60-day timeframe.
The Lebanese government, alongside United Nations peacekeepers, was tasked with deploying forces to ensure security in the region post-ceasefire. Despite these terms, tensions remain high. Hezbollah’s current leader, Naim Kassem, recently issued a warning through a televised statement, indicating that the group’s fighters might retaliate if Israeli forces do not leave the southern territories by the end of the month.
Israeli actions have been met with criticism from Hezbollah and the Lebanese government, who accuse Israel of failing to comply fully with the ceasefire agreement and continuing its presence in Lebanese territories. Israel, on the other hand, contends that the Lebanese military has not adequately addressed Hezbollah’s infrastructure. The situation remains precarious as both sides navigate the delicate ceasefire arrangements, with further diplomatic discussions anticipated. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has conveyed to Hezbollah the Lebanese government’s intention to meet with U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein, hoping to negotiate and solidify the truce.
The revelation of Hassan Nasrallah’s death last year underscores the volatile nature of Middle Eastern geopolitics and the ever-present challenges in achieving lasting peace. The fragile ceasefire, brokered by U.S. diplomacy, highlights the complexity of the conflict and the ongoing tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.
Source: News4jax
