Hezbollah confirms its leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike

Tel Aviv: Lebanon’s Hezbollah group has confirmed that its leader and one of its founders, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

A statement Saturday said Nasrallah “has joined his fellow martyrs.”

The statement says Hezbollah vows to “continue the holy war against the enemy and in support of Palestine.”

Nasrallah led the militant group for more than three decades. His death could dramatically reshape conflicts across the Middle East.

Earlier in the day, Israel said that it killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, dealing its most significant blow to the Lebanese militant group after months of fighting. There was no immediate confirmation from Hezbollah.

If the claim is true, Nasrallah is by far the most powerful target to be killed by Israel in weeks of intensified fighting with Hezbollah. The military said it carried out a precise airstrike on Friday while Hezbollah leadership met at their headquarters in Dahiyeh, south of Beirut.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said six people were killed and 91 injured in the Beirut strikes Friday, which leveled six apartment buildings. Ali Karki, the Commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front, and additional Hezbollah commanders were also killed in the attack, the Israeli military said. (AP)