Death of Hezbollah leader a ‘historic turning point’, Netanyahu says as Israeli tanks gather on Lebanon border

29 September 2024, 07:07 | Updated: 29 September 2024, 08:28

The Hezbollah chief was killed in a targeted strike on Beirut on Friday.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as a “historic turning point.”

"We have settled accounts with someone who was responsible for the murders of countless Israelis and many nationals of other countries, including hundreds of Americans and dozens of French,” he said.

"Nasrallah was not just another terrorist, he was the terrorist. He was the axis of the axis, the main engine of Iran's axis of evil. He and his people were the architects of the plan to destroy Israel."

This comes as Israeli tanks gather on the country’s border with Lebanon, with the IDF reportedly considering an “expansion” in the region.

Read more: Foreign Sec calls for 'immediate ceasefire' in Lebanon after Israeli strikes blitz Beirut

Read more: Iran warns Israel will 'regret their actions' after killing of Hezbollah leader

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has held "an operational situation assessment" on what he called "the expansion of IDF (Israel Defence Forces) activities in the northern arena".

Sunday morning saw Israel conduct further strikes on Lebanon, with local reports claiming at least 15 people died.

Pictures taken on Sunday evening showed Israeli tanks gathering on Lebanon’s border as talks of a land invasion continued to rumble on.

The official X account of the IDF announced the Hezbollah leader's death on Saturday.

A post read: "Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world."

An IDF statement said: "The IDF eliminated the so-called Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the terrorist organization Hezbollah.

"Yesterday, the IDF killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the terrorist organization Hezbollah and one of its founders.

"The IDF also killed Ali Karaki, the commander of the southern front in the terrorist organization Hezbollah, and a number of other Hezbollah leaders."

Hezbollah later confirmed their leader was killed in the strike.

A Hezbollah statement read: "The leadership of Hezbollah pledges to the highest, holiest, and most precious martyr in our path full of sacrifices and martyrs to continue its jihad in confronting the enemy, supporting Gaza and Palestine, and defending Lebanon and its steadfast and honourable people."

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy has called for an immediate ceasefire in Lebanon following a week of devastating Israeli strikes.

In a post on X, the Foreign Secretary said: "I spoke today to Lebanese PM Najib Mikati and we agreed on the need for an immediate ceasefire to bring an end to the bloodshed.

"A diplomatic solution is the only way to restore security and stability for the Lebanese and Israeli people."

The intervention by Britain's most senior diplomat comes after a senior Unicef official said Lebanon is facing the prospect of a humanitarian "catastrophe" following airstrikes overnight.

Ettie Higgins, Unicef's deputy representative in Lebanon, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We are seeing thousands and thousands of people leave the southern suburbs of Beirut towards safety or any area at all that can give them safety."

Describing children, of whom she said at least 50 had been killed, as "terrified" and hospitals as "completely overwhelmed with injured people", she said the supplies Unicef had positioned in the country in advance of the strikes by Israel were "virtually completely used up".

She added: "This week we have seen major water pumping stations destroyed, so urgent efforts are needed to get safe, clean drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people who are now looking for alternative sources of water.

"So even the most basic essential services of healthcare and water are now being rapidly, rapidly depleted. There was already a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon given that it's been hosting over 1 million refugees from Syria for over a decade, so it's rapidly escalating into a catastrophe."