Israel pounds Lebanon, pressuring Hezbollah after killing its leader

Israel struck multiple targets in Lebanon on Sunday, threatening more attacks after Iran-backed Hezbollah dealt a major blow with the killing of the group’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

The Israeli military said its air force had struck “dozens of Hezbollah terrorist targets in Lebanon, including launch pads aimed at Israeli territory, buildings where weapons are stored, and additional Hezbollah terrorist facilities.” did.

The navy said it had intercepted a projectile approaching Israel from around the Red Sea, and that eight other projectiles from Lebanon had fallen on open land.

Nasrallah was killed on Friday in a major Israeli air raid on the group’s headquarters in Beirut’s southern suburbs. This was a major blow to Hezbollah and Iran, expelling an influential ally who helped make Hezbollah a cornerstone of Tehran’s network of allied groups in the Arab world.

Israel announced his killing on Saturday, and Hezbollah later confirmed his death.

Hezbollah said in its announcement that it would continue fighting Israel and has continued to fire rockets at Israel, including a salvo on Sunday morning.

Nasrallah’s death capped a traumatic two weeks for Hezbollah, which began with the explosion of thousands of communications equipment used by its members.

It was widely assumed that Israel carried out the action, but it has neither confirmed nor denied doing so.

The escalation has raised concerns that the conflict could spiral out of control and involve not only Iran but also Israel’s closest ally, the United States.

Since the Iranian-backed Palestinian group attacked Israel on October 7 last year, Hezbollah and Israel have been fighting alongside Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry said 33 people were killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon on Saturday, bringing the total number of deaths since fighting broke out on October 8 last year to more than 1,670, including 104 children. It was announced that

In Beirut, displaced families spent the night on benches in Zaitunai Bay. Zaytunai Bay is a series of restaurants and cafes on Beirut’s waterfront, where private security usually keeps wanderers away.

On a Sunday morning, a family carrying only a duffel bag of clothes spread out sleeping mats and poured themselves a cup of tea.

“No matter what you do, no matter how much you bomb, no matter how many people you evacuate, you cannot destroy us. We will remain here. We will not leave. Here. is our country and we will remain,” said Francoise Azoli, a Beirut resident jogging in the area.

The United Nations’ World Food Program said in a statement on Sunday that it had launched an emergency operation to feed up to one million people affected by the Lebanon conflict.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that Nasrallah’s killing was a necessary step to “change the balance of power in the region for years to come.”

“Prime Minister Nasrallah is not a terrorist, he was a terrorist,” Prime Minister Netanyahu said in a statement, warning of difficult days ahead.

Israel said it had killed senior Hezbollah official Ali Karaki and other commanders along with Nasrallah.

US President Joe Biden said Nasrallah’s death was a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis and Lebanese, and said the US fully supported Israel’s right to self-defense. He said he supports the

But on Saturday, Biden told reporters, “It’s time for a ceasefire,” when asked if an Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon was inevitable.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei was transferred to a safe location in Iran after Nasrallah’s killing, sources told Reuters. Khamenei said Prime Minister Nasrallah’s death would be avenged and his path to fighting Israel would be pursued by other armed groups.

Tehran called a UN Security Council meeting on Israel’s actions in Lebanon and elsewhere in the region and warned against any attacks on diplomatic facilities or representatives.

A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander, Deputy Commander Abbas Nilforoushan, was also killed in Friday’s attack, according to Iranian media.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said Israel’s war is not against the Lebanese people. His office said he discussed the possibility of expanding Israel’s military offensive on its northern front late Saturday.

Hezbollah said it would only ceasefire if Israel’s attack on Gaza ends. Hamas and other allies of Hezbollah issued statements mourning his death.

Lebanon’s top Christian cleric, Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai, said Nasrallah’s killing “opened a wound in the hearts of the Lebanese people.”

Rai has previously expressed criticism of the Shiite Islamic group Hezbollah, accusing it of dragging Lebanon into regional conflicts.

“We extend our personal condolences to the family and community of Syed Hassan Nasrallah,” he said in his sermon.

Hezbollah’s arsenal is a long-standing point of contention in Lebanon, which has a history of civil war. Lebanese critics of Hezbollah say the group has weakened the country by unilaterally drawing the country into conflict.