Israel's military said it had "eliminated" Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an air strike on Beirut's southern suburbs, though the group has yet to comment on his fate.
If confirmed, Nasrallah's death would deal a massive blow to the Lebanese group which he has led since 1992.
Israeli army announces killing of Nasrallah
Israeli forces have killed Lebanon's Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the military's Arabic-speaking spokesperson Avichay Adraee said, a day after an Israeli strike on the southern suburbs of Beirut.
"Hassan Nasrallah is dead," military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani announced on X. Military spokesman Captain David Avraham also confirmed to AFP that the Hezbollah chief had been "eliminated" following strikes Friday on the Lebanese capital.
Contact with Nasrallah 'lost' since Friday night
A source close to Lebanon's Hezbollah group said Saturday contact had been lost since last evening with chief Hassan Nasrallah, after Israel said it had "eliminated" him in a strike on the group's southern Beirut bastion.
"Contact with Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has been lost since Friday evening," said the source, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. He did not confirm whether Nasrallah had been killed.
Hezbollah chief's fate uncertain as Israel pounds Lebanon
Israel said it was attacking the headquarters and weapons facilities in the Lebanese capital, and Israeli and US media reported Nasrallah was the target of strikes Friday night, although a source close to Hezbollah said he was "fine".
The blasts that rocked southern Beirut Friday were the fiercest to hit the group's stronghold since Israel and Hezbollah last went to war in 2006.
Who is Hassan Nasrallah?
Hassan Nasrallah was born on August 31, 1960, in the village of Bazouriyeh, near Tyre in southern Lebanon.
He is married to Fatima Yassin, and they have five children: Hadi, Zeinab, Mohammad Jawad, Mohammad Mahdi, and Mohammad Ali.
His eldest, Hadi, was killed in clashes with the Israeli army in southern Lebanon in 1997.
Nasrallah received a religious education at Shia Muslim seminaries in Lebanon, Iraq, and Iran. He joined the political Amal Movement in high school and rose to its political bureau in 1979.
In 1982, amid disagreements over how to resist Israel's invasion of Lebanon, Nasrallah and others left Amal and joined Hezbollah, a newly formed group. He was put in charge of mobilizing fighters in the country's Bekaa Valley.
By 1985, Nasrallah moved to the capital Beirut and became deputy head of the region. Later, he assumed the role of chief executive, tasked with implementing the decisions of the group's Shura Council.
Leadership of Hezbollah
Nasrallah became Hezbollah's secretary-general on February 16, 1992, following the assassination of his predecessor Abbas al-Musawi in an Israeli air strike.
Under Nasrallah's leadership, Hezbollah launched a series of strategic operations against Israel, culminating in the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon in 2000 after a 22-year occupation.
In 2004, he played a key role in negotiating a major prisoner exchange with Israel, leading to the release of hundreds of Lebanese and Arab prisoners.
His role in securing Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon locally earned him the title “leader of the resistance,” especially after Hezbollah's later confrontation with Israel during the 2006 Lebanon War.
Fiery speeches and his commitment to retaliating against Israeli attacks, particularly in defense of Palestinians, further bolstered his popularity across the Arab and Islamic worlds.
His popularity declines over Syrian regime support
However, Nasrallah's popularity diminished over Hezbollah's support for the Syrian regime against opposition forces during Syria's ongoing civil war, which broke out in 2011.
His standing rebounded in the wake of the "Al-Aqsa Flood" operation launched by Palestinian factions, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad, against Israeli settlements near Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023.
Israel's Gaza offensive, now nearing its first anniversary, has resulted in over 137,000 Palestinian casualties.
Nasrallah declared the opening of a “front in southern Lebanon to support Palestinian resistance,” vowing in several speeches that the effort would remain active until the war in Gaza ends.
