Hezbollah leader Nasrallah killed in Israeli strike on Beirut

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has been killed, the Iran-backed group said on Saturday, confirming his death after the Israeli military said it had eliminated him in an air strike in Beirut the day before.

His death marks a devastating blow to Hezbollah as it reels from an escalating campaign of Israeli attacks. It is also a huge blow to Iran, given the major role he has played in the Tehran-backed regional “Axis of Resistance”.

Hezbollah said in a statement that it would continue its battle against Israel “in support of Gaza and Palestine, and in defence of Lebanon and its steadfast and honourable people”. It did not say how Nasrallah was killed.

The Israeli military said earlier that Nasrallah was eliminated in a “targeted strike” on Friday on the group’s underground headquarters beneath 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.