New Delhi:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Saturday that he had personally authorized the operation to eliminate Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut. Nasrallah, 64, was killed when Israeli strikes targeted dozens of Hezbollah locations in eastern and southern Lebanon, following intense rocket fire by the group into northern Israel. Israeli fighter jets bombed Hezbollah strongholds in southern Beirut overnight, leveling several residential buildings.
Netanyahu hailed Nasrallah’s death as a crucial achievement in Israel’s military strategy and as a step toward restoring security along Israel’s northern borders.
Addressing his country after Nasrallah’s assassination, Netanyahu said Nasrallah had been responsible for orchestrating numerous attacks on Israelis and foreigners, including high-profile bombings in the 1980s.
These attacks included the 1983 Beirut bombings that killed 63 people at the U.S. Embassy and hundreds of U.S. Marines and French paratroopers. Netanyahu said the death of “terrorist” Nasrallah was critical to reducing Hezbollah’s capabilities, stating: “As long as Nasrallah was alive, he would quickly restore the capabilities we had eroded from Hezbollah.”
“We have settled the score with whoever is responsible for the murder of countless Israelis and many citizens of other countries, including hundreds of Americans and dozens of French,” he said.
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The Israeli prime minister pointed to Nasrallah’s elimination as a turning point that would accelerate the return of residents of northern Israel who fled due to cross-border fire and further weaken Hamas, Hezbollah’s ally in Gaza. “The more [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar sees that Hezbollah is no longer coming to rescue him, the greater the chances of the return of our hostages,” Netanyahu said, referring to ongoing efforts to secure the release of Israelis captured by Hamas in the October 7 attack .
Netanyahu praised Israel’s military and intelligence services, including the IDF, Mossad and Shin Bet, for carrying out the operation. “We are winning,” he said.
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Netanyahu used Nasrallah’s death as an opportunity to warn Iran. He said Israel’s reach extends across the region, including Iran, and made clear that Nasrallah’s killing should serve as a message to Tehran and its allies. “There is no place in Iran or the Middle East that is beyond the reach of Israel’s long arm, and today you know how true that is,” he said. “I say to the Ayatollah’s regime: whoever strikes us, we will defeat him.”
Concluding his message, Netanyahu called this period a “historic turning point” and reaffirmed his commitment to the safe return of displaced residents and the recovery of hostages. He ended with a promise of unity: “We will fight together, and with God’s help, we will win together.”
“We are determined to continue attacking our enemies, return our residents to their homes and return all our abductees. We will not forget them for a moment,” he said.