Written by Emily Rose and Maya Gebeili
JERUSALEM/BEIRUT (Reuters) – Israel bombed multiple targets in Lebanon on Sunday, pressuring Iran-backed Hezbollah for more attacks after it dealt a major blow by killing the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
The Israeli military said the air force “bombed dozens of Hezbollah terrorist targets in Lebanon, including launch pads that were directed toward Israeli territory, facilities where weapons were stored, and additional Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure.”
The Navy said in a statement that the Navy intercepted a projectile approaching Israel from the Red Sea region, and eight other projectiles coming from Lebanon fell in open areas.
Nasrallah was killed in a large-scale Israeli air strike on Friday on the group’s headquarters in the southern suburb of Beirut. It was a major blow to Hezbollah and Iran, removing an influential ally who had helped build Hezbollah into the centerpiece of Tehran’s network of allied groups in the Arab world.
Israel announced his death on Saturday, and Hezbollah later confirmed his death.
In its announcement, Hezbollah said it would continue the fight against Israel and continued to fire rockets at it, including a barrage on Sunday morning.
Nasrallah’s killing was the culmination of two painful weeks for Hezbollah, beginning with the bombing of thousands of communications devices used by its members. It is widely believed that Israel carried out this action, but it has neither confirmed nor denied that it did so.
The escalation has heightened fears that the conflict could spiral out of control, which could attract Iran and the United States, Israel’s closest allies.
Hezbollah and Israel have been fighting in parallel with the Israeli war in Gaza against Hamas since the attack launched by the Iranian-backed Palestinian group on Israel last October 7.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health said that 33 people were killed in the Israeli raids on Lebanon on Saturday, bringing the total number of deaths since the outbreak of hostilities on October 8 of last year to more than 1,670, including 104 children.
In Beirut, displaced families spent the night on benches at Zaytouna Bay, a chain of restaurants and cafes on Beirut’s waterfront where private security usually turns away any loiterers.
On Sunday morning, families with only a bag of clothes spread out mats to sleep on and poured tea for themselves.
“You will not be able to destroy us, no matter what you do, no matter how much you bomb, no matter how much you displace people – we will stay here. We will not leave. This is our country and we will stay,” Françoise said. Azoury, a Beirut resident, runs in the area.
The United Nations World Food Program said in a statement on Sunday that it had launched an emergency operation to provide food to up to one million people affected by the conflict in Lebanon.
“balance of power”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that Nasrallah’s killing was a necessary step toward “changing the balance of power in the region for years to come.”
Netanyahu said in a statement, “Nasrallah was not a terrorist, he was the terrorist,” warning of the difficult days ahead.
Israel said it killed senior Hezbollah official Ali Karki and other leaders alongside Nasrallah.
US President Joe Biden described Nasrallah’s death as a measure to achieve justice for those he described as his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis and Lebanese, and said that the United States fully supports Israel’s right to self-defense.
But when asked if an Israeli ground incursion into Lebanon was inevitable, Biden told reporters on Saturday: “It is time for a ceasefire.”
Sources told Reuters that Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was transferred to a safe place in Iran after Nasrallah was killed. Khamenei said that Nasrallah’s killing would be avenged and that other militants would follow his path in fighting Israel.
Tehran called for a UN Security Council meeting regarding Israel’s actions in Lebanon and elsewhere in the region, warning against any attacks on its diplomatic facilities and representatives.
Iranian media reported that a senior member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Deputy Commander Abbas Nilforoushan, was also killed in Friday’s attacks.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said that Israel’s war is not with the Lebanese people. His office said he held talks late Saturday evening about the possibility of expanding the Israeli military offensive on its northern front.
Hezbollah said it would not cease fire until the Israeli attack on Gaza ended. Hamas and other Hezbollah allies issued statements mourning his death.
Christian condolences
Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai, the highest Christian cleric in Lebanon, said that Nasrallah’s killing “opened a wound in the hearts of the Lebanese.” Al-Rahi previously criticized the Shiite Hezbollah group and accused it of dragging Lebanon into regional conflicts.
“We offer our personal condolences to the family and community of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah,” he said in a sermon.
Hezbollah’s arsenal has long been a point of contention in Lebanon, a country with a history of civil conflict. Lebanese Hezbollah critics say the group has unilaterally pushed the country into conflicts and undermined the state.