A “New Order” in the Mideast, as Israel Kills Hezbollah Head Nasrallah

Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut on Friday night, while he was in Hezbollah’s Central Headquarters in the Dahiya suburb of the Lebanese capital. The assassination operation was given the name New Order. 

This massive blow comes after two weeks of successful operations against Hezbollah’s top operatives and infrastructure, attributed to Israel. Ali Karaki, Hezbollah’s southern front commander, was also killed in the attack, alongside other senior members. Karaki was considered number 3 in the terror organization. Number 2, Fuad Shukr, was killed in July.  
 
“For decades, Hezbollah, under the command of Hassan Nasrallah, orchestrated countless attacks against innocent people. Hassan Nasrallah had the blood of thousands of men, women, and children on his hands. Israelis. Jews across the world. Lebanese. Americans. British. French. Syrians and other countless victims across the Middle East and beyond,” said IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari.
 
Hezbollah, under the command of Nasrallah, joined Hamas in attacking Israel on October 8th. For the past year, it fired thousands of rockets, suicide drones, and missiles at Israeli towns and cities. Some 60,000 Israelis were forced to flee their homes in northern Israel. 
  
“Hezbollah has openly declared that it has a plan to carry out its own October 7th massacre on Israel’s northern border, but on an even larger scale. They call this plan ‘Conquer the Galilee,’ Hagari added. 

“Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of an evil terrorist organization; the senior terrorists eliminated with him, and the central headquarters they were in, were legitimate military targets under international law. Nasrallah intentionally built Hezbollah’s central headquarters under residential buildings in Dahiya, Beirut—because Hezbollah intentionally uses Lebanese civilians as human shields. While Hezbollah seeks to maximize civilian harm, Israel seeks to minimize it. Our war is not with the Lebanese people; our war is with Hezbollah. 

Overnight and all throughout Saturday, Hezbollah continued firing rockets, drones and missiles at Israel which, on its part, carried out several additional attacks in Lebanese territory against Hezbollah infrastructure and operatives. One of them killed a senior member of Hezbollah’s intelligence division, Khalil Yassin. 

“Hassan Nasrallah and the terrorist group he led, Hezbollah, were responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade reign of terror.  His death from an Israeli airstrike is a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians,” said US President, Joe Biden, in a statement released on Saturday. 

Biden reaffirmed the American commitment to Israel and said he directed the Secretary of Defense to further enhance the defense posture of US military forces in the Middle East region.

“Ultimately, our aim is to de-escalate the ongoing conflicts in both Gaza and Lebanon through diplomatic means.  In Gaza, we have been pursuing a deal backed by the UN Security Council for a ceasefire and the release of hostages.  In Lebanon, we have been negotiating a deal that would return people safely to their homes in Israel and southern Lebanon.  It is time for these deals to close, for the threats to Israel to be removed, and for the broader Middle East region to gain greater stability,” said Biden.