Benjamin Netanyahu last night said killing Hezbollah’s terror chief was a ‘historic turning point’ for Israel, which “settled scores with a master murderer”.
The Israeli prime minister told his nation in a televised speech that Hassan Nasrallah was responsible for the murder of thousands of Israelis, Americans and even French citizens.
Mr Netanyahu, who cut short his trip to New York, said: ‘The state of Israel killed the master murderer Hassan Nasrallah.
‘We settled scores with those responsible for the murder of countless Israelis, and many citizens of other countries, including hundreds of Americans and dozens of Frenchmen.’
In a three-anda- half minute speech, he added: ‘Nasrallah was no longer a terrorist. He was the terrorist. He was the axis of the axis, the central engine of Iran’s axis of evil.
‘He and his people were the architects of the plan to destroy Israel. He was not only activated by Iran, many times he also activated Iran.’
Mr Netanyahu spoke just hours after Hezbollah confirmed the death of Nasrallah, with Iran’s leaders vowing revenge. The Israelis killed Nasrallah, 64, in a devastating air strike on his underground headquarters in Beirut on Friday night, using more than 80 bunker-buster bombs.
Iran’s supreme leader warned that Nasrallah’s death ‘shall not go unavenged’. Ayatollah Khamenei urged Muslims across the Middle East to rise up and join Hezbollah in its fight against the ‘rabid Zionist’ state of Israel.
Amid simmering tensions, the Foreign Office reissued calls for an estimated 4,000 UK nationals, dual citizens and their families to leave Lebanon immediately.
US President Joe Biden backed Israel, calling Nasrallah’s killing a ‘measure of justice for his many victims,’ including ‘thousands of Americans, Israelis and Lebanese civilians’.
The IDF said it targeted Nasrallah as he and senior members of the terror group held a meeting to plan attacks against Israel. The devastating strikes in Beirut’s Dahieh neighbourhood levelled six residential buildings, beneath which the group’s HQ was built.
At least 11 Lebanese were killed, with 108 wounded. The strike also killed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) deputy commander Abbas Nilforoushan, who headed the Quds Force in Lebanon.
Last night, talk turned to whether the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) will launch a ground invasion of southern Lebanon after commanders called up three reserve forces.
Israel’s army chief Herzi Halevi said: ‘The IDF is at peak readiness, both in defence and offence, across all fronts, and is prepared for what comes next.’
Iran declared five days of mourning for Nasrallah’s death, with its ally Iraq and the Houthi rebels in Yemen announcing three days.
Nasrallah was elected leader of Hezbollah in 1992, gradually turning it into the most-feared terrorist group in the Middle East, with more than 100,000 armed fighters. His death was marked by celebrations in some parts of the Middle East where Hezbollah is hated.
In Syrian cities such as Idlib, residents cheered and gave each other sweets on the street to celebrate. In parts of Beirut, as residents in Shia suburbs mourned on the street, those in Christian parts celebrated by lighting the sky with fireworks.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said last night he had spoken to Lebanon’s prime minister Najib Mikati: ‘We agreed on the need for an immediate ceasefire to bring an end to the bloodshed.
A diplomatic solution is the only way to restore security and stability for the Lebanese and Israeli people.’ British nationals living in Beirut spoke of their terror over continuous bombings.
Teacher Chris Watts, 35, from London, who runs an education project for children in a camp in Beirut, said Friday night’s strikes were ‘completely petrifying’.
‘I was watching everyone from the camp fleeing through news reports. They had no idea where they were going. We still haven’t heard from one of them,’ he added.
