Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu characterized the termination of Hezbollah figurehead Hassan Nasrallah as a crucial act, while U.S. President Joe Biden articulated that it stood as ‘a semblance of justice’ for the countless victims of Hezbollah. Nasrallah and a chain of additional Hezbollah higher-ups met their end in a calculated air raid on Hezbollah’s strategic hub, just south of Beirut. Quantifying a significant intensification in the hostilities lasting over a year between Israel and the Lebanese Shiite faction. In his inaugural comprehensive proclamation post Nasrallah’s demise, Netanyahu suggested that Israel had ‘evened the score with an individual culpable for the killing of numerable Israelis along with several foreign nationals, which includes hundreds of Americans and numerous French.’
Nasrallah, according to Netanyahu, ‘was more than a common terrorist, he was the essence of terror. He occupied the central position in the axis of evil, being Iran’s principal driving force. In addition to answering to Iran’s commands, he frequently directed Iran’s course of action.’ The Israeli Leader expressed his belief that ‘the measures taken by IDF against Hezbollah were not sufficient. The removal of Nasrallah is a pivotal step towards achieving our set goals: Ensuring the safe return of northern inhabitants to their houses while shifting the regional power dynamics for years to come.’
Meanwhile, Biden supported the Israeli move acknowledging it as a shock for Hezbollah, which has incited vows of retaliation from Hezbollah itself, Iran’s highest authority Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and Palestinian terror group Hamas. ‘Hezbollah and its spearhead Nasrallah bear responsibility for the death of hundreds of Americans over a four-decade reign of terror,’ stated Biden. ‘His conclusive end by an Israeli airstrike represents a modicum of justice for his multitude of victims which include thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians.’
The strike that claimed Nasrallah’s life occurred against the extensive background of the conflict initiated by Hamas’s massacre on October 7, 2023. Biden continued, ‘Nasrallah made the consequential choice to ally with Hamas the next day, opening what he termed a ‘northern front’ against Israel.’ Despite the seemingly boundless support Washington has for Israel’s right to defense against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and any other terrorist groups with Iranian backing, Biden still insists that the ultimate aim is to de-escalate the existing conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon through diplomatic channels. However, often his rhetoric falls short in inspiring confidence.
In unrelated spectrums, previous Lebanese Premier Saad Hariri, for instance, denounced what he referred to as the ‘assassination of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah,’ declaring that it ‘thrusts Lebanon and the surrounding region into a fresh cycle of violence.’ In his words, the tragic event ‘is a cowardly act wholly repudiated by us, who still bear the brunt of our loved ones’ losses when assassination substituted politics.’ While oversensitive responses from regional actors are not a new phenomenon, some find it perplexing why a former Prime Minister would lend credence to a terror organization’s talking points.
In the same vein, Khamenei proclaimed a five-day period of national grief following ‘the martyrdom’ of the Hezbollah chief, stating that the militia will ‘grow stronger through the blood of Nasrallah along with the other martyrs of the Beirut assault.’ On Saturday, the Iranian leader reminded all Muslims of what he called ‘an obligation to back the citizens of Lebanon and the noble Hezbollah, contributing their resources and aid as Hezbollah confronts the unjust, wicked Zionist regime.’ Painful to some ears, it seems, that the highest leader of an authoritarian regime is lecturing others about ‘noble’ behavior.
Hezbollah’s leadership confirmed Nasrallah’s death and the deaths of several others following IDF air strikes, which flattened several towering apartment buildings in Beirut. The onslaught resulted in a minimum of 11 fatalities and 108 injuries according to reports from Lebanon’s Health Ministry on Saturday. The IDF claimed that Hezbollah was planning a large-scale incursion into northern Israel, which has been the target of multiple drone and rocket strikes from Hezbollah since October 8.
According to Admiral Daniel Hagari, a spokesperson for the Israeli Defense Forces, Hezbollah had been prepping for an assault on Israel’s civilian population that would have greatly exceeded the scale of the October 7 attack conducted by Hamas. Key figures lost by Hezbollah in the strikes include their southern front command Ali Karki and other commands operating from a strategic hub embedded beneath six apartment buildings in the southern suburb of Beirut, Dahiya.
Hagari highlighted that the IDF purposefully chose to attack during the afternoon to limit civilian casualties, and they further carried out supplementary airstrikes to wipe out Hezbollah’s weapon reserves. An interesting tidbit of information was that one of those who met their end was Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps General, Abbas Nilforoushan, identified by the United States as being the deputy commander for IRGC operations and the apparent architect behind ‘protest suppression’ in Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested and subsequently died in custody in Iran.
Although Hezbollah’s central command center was embedded within a residential area, Hagari justified that under international law it was a legitimate military target. He identified Nasrallah’s blatant use of Lebanese civilians as human shields by intentionally constructing Hezbollah’s central base beneath residential buildings in Dahiya, Beirut. ‘While Hezbollah aims to maximize civilian loss, Israel strives to minimize it.’ Hagari said, ‘Our war is not with the Lebanese people, it is with Hezbollah.’
He stressed that Hezbollah ‘opted to involve itself in the conflict instigated by Hamas. And that decision unavoidably has its own implications.’ Adding additional warning, Israel’s army chief Herzi Halevi signaled that ‘this is not the entirety of our arsenal’ after Nasrallah’s death. He affirmed, ‘It should be explicitly clear: advance tools will be used if needed,’ and ‘Our message is clear: if anyone threatens Israel’s civilians, we will identify and target them, be it in the north, south or even further abroad.’
Halevi announced in a video released on Saturday, stating that Israel’s military is prepared ‘along all our fronts.’ In keeping with the reactive safety measures, the Israeli government announced restrictions on gatherings of more than 1,000 people within Tel Aviv and nearby city Netanya along with several other areas of Israel according to Saturday’s regulations. Data from the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office did not offer much optimism, indicating the total count of Israeli captives still held in Gaza stands at 101, including 35 believed already to be dead.
Tensions escalated further in Gaza as overnight Israeli attacks led to the deaths of at least six Palestinians with more wounded, according to statements from the Palestinian Civil Defense in the strip. In another concerning development, Israel managed to intercept a missile launched from Yemen before it could reach the country, as reported by IDF on Saturday. Despite the obvious cascading violence in the region, Israeli authorities maintain a clear stand that their confrontation is not with the Lebanese people or Palestinian civilians, but with the terrorist factions, and that stand seems unwavering under Hezbollah’s belligerence.
Reactions remain varied and increasingly tense, and as the situation continues to evolve, one could only hope that the cycle of violence will not continue indefinitely. However, the current retaliation rhetoric from Hezbollah and its allies, and the firm stance by Israel makes the future uncertain. On both fronts, the consequences of these actions will churn the waters of peace in the region. It’s a predictively gloomy forecast, echoing the certainty of the sun setting in the west.