Fears of all-out war in the Middle East grow

Beirut. Hezbollah confirmed yesterday that its leader, Sayed Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in yesterday’s powerful Israeli bombardment near Beirut, marking a significant escalation of the regional conflict and raising fears of a full-scale war in the Middle East.

The Israeli army announced that it is on high alert, confirming the death, whose attack destroyed six apartment blocks, killed at least 11 people and injured more than 100, Health officials said.

Under the command of Nasrallah, a Shiite cleric, incendiary orator and astute strategist, Hezbollah led the war of attrition that ended 18 years of Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000, and continued its fight to bring Israel to a stalemate, before fighting in Syria in support of President Bashar al Assad.

Despite the power he had exercised since 1992 in the Lebanese armed group, due to his group’s attacks against northern Israel since last year – which have displaced some 60,000 people – he lived in hiding most of the time for fear of being murdered.

Ali Karki, commander of Hezbollah’s southern front, is among several high-level figures who also perished in yesterday’s attack, Israeli military sources said, as was Abbas Nilforushan, a prominent general in Iran’s paramilitary guard, according to reports. of state media of the Islamic Republic.

Nasrallah’s death provoked tears and cheers from thousands of people in Lebanon’s neighborhoods and increased tension in Beirut, mainly in centers hosting Shiite refugees. In contrast, there were celebrations in Israel and in areas of Syria not under President Al Assad’s control.

We don’t believe they killed him.a crying woman dressed in black exclaimed to Al Manar television in Bekaa, western Lebanon. We don’t believe it. We left our homes and came here for him and for the resistance.

balance of power

In his first public statements, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the removal of the militant leader as an essential condition to achieve the objectives we have set for ourselvesand a necessary step to change the balance of power in the region in the coming years. In a statement he highlighted: He was not just another terrorist. He was the number one terrorist.

He noted that Nasrallah’s assassination would help displaced Israelis return to their homes in the north and put pressure on Hamas to free Israeli hostages held captive in the Gaza Strip. However, given the threat of retaliation, he stressed that the coming days would bring significant challengesand warned Iran not to try to attack Israel.

Shia Muslims mourn during a protest over the assassination of Hezbollah leader Sayed Hassan Nasrallah in Karachi, Pakistan. Photo Ap

The deadly offensives increase pressure on Iran – Hezbollah’s main ally – with the possibility that it will retaliate, as it is left without its most powerful ally in the region.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on the people to side with the Lebanese militia with any means at your disposaland urged them to cooperate to confront Israel; Furthermore, he warned that The fate of the region will be determined by the resistance forces, with Hezbollah at the forefront.

Some sources told the British news agency Reuters that, given the events, the Iranian leader was transferred to a safe place in his country. Khamenei affirmed that Nasrallah’s death will be avenged and other militants will follow their path in the fight against Israel.

The Iranian government also called for an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council amid terrorist aggression Israeli against Lebanese territory.

Nasrallah’s death drew condemnation from regional leaders. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani accused Israel of crossing all red lines. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that must stop to Israel and condemned their inhuman attacks against Lebanon. The Palestinian militia Hamas and the Houthis of Yemen joined the condemnations.

Regional sentences

Authorities in Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Iraq and Yemen declared several days of mourning. The Lebanese Prime Minister, Nayib Mikati, issued the memorandum to honor the martyr for three days with flags at half-mast in all official headquarters, and at his funeral all public offices in the country will be closed.

Israel continued its aerial bombardments yesterday against 140 Hezbollah positionsleaving 33 dead and 195 injured, the army reported and added that it was mobilizing more reserve soldiers, activating three other battalions. Earlier in the week, it sent two brigades to northern Israel to train for a possible ground invasion of southern Lebanon.

After the escalation of attacks on Friday, Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari noted that he hopes challenging daysin which Tel Aviv has limited the number allowed in rallies to a thousand people, in preparation for possible retaliation.

He insisted that Nasrallah – who, he said, was among Israel’s greatest enemies of all time– ha posed a threat to Israeli citizens for decades, and its removal makes the world a safer place. Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Friday’s attack in southern Beirut – one of the most intense since the 2006 war, using 80 bombs within a few minutes’ range – was one of the Largest targeted attacks since the founding of the State of Israel.

While Israel and Hezbollah have been frequently exchanging fire since the deadly incursion by Palestinian militants sparked the war in Gaza, Gallant declared last week that Israel was entering into a new phase of the war and that the center of gravity is shifting towards the northern border of the country. Faced with protests over the destruction caused by the attacks in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Hagari insisted that the Hezbollah headquarters targeted by the offensive in which Nasrallah was killed was a legitimate military target, in accordance with international law.