Lebanon’s Hezbollah confirmed on Saturday that its leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed.
The group said in a statement it would continue its battle against Israel “in support of Gaza and Palestine, and in defense of Lebanon and its steadfast and honorable people.”
Israel said earlier on Saturday it had killed Nasrallah in an airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs a day earlier.
Hezbollah’s Al-Manar TV started airing Quran verses after the announcement of Nasrallah’s death.
The Israeli military said in a statement that Nasrallah was eliminated in a “targeted strike” on the group’s underground headquarters under a residential building in Dahiyeh – a Hezbollah-controlled southern suburb of Beirut.
It said he was killed along with another top Hezbollah leader – Ali Karaki – and other commanders.
“The strike was conducted while Hezbollah’s senior chain of command was operating from the headquarters and advancing terrorist activities against the citizens of the State of Israel,” it said.
Friday’s airstrike on Dahiyeh shook Beirut. A security source in Lebanon said the attack – a quick succession of massively powerful blasts – had left a crater at least 20 meters deep.
The attack, followed on Saturday by further airstrikes on Dahiyeh and other parts of Lebanon, have escalated the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
The escalation has sharply increased fears the conflict could spin out of control, potentially drawing in Iran, Hezbollah’s principal backer, as well as the United States.