WASHINGTON − Hassan Nasrallah, the highly controversial leader of Hezbollah, was killed on Friday as a result of an Israeli airstrike, according to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

In a statement, the IDF declared that Nasrallah, a key figure in the Hezbollah terrorist organization and one of its founders, has been eliminated.

The military added that “following accurate intelligence,” fighter jets targeted Hezbollah’s Central Headquarters, which was located underground beneath a residential area in Dahieh, a suburb of Beirut.

Hezbollah has confirmed Nasrallah’s demise, stating it will persist in its fight against Israel “to support Gaza and Palestine, as well as to defend Lebanon and its dignified people.”

An underground gathering leads to a colossal crater

This decisive strike against Israel’s most significant adversary in the region has resulted in a political upheaval, raising fears of retaliatory actions against Israeli and U.S. interests from Iran and its allies in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.

“This is immensely significant,” stated Mohamad Bazzi, director at the Kevorkian Center for Near East Studies, NYU. “It’s a substantial setback for Hezbollah and Iran.”

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has vowed that Nasrallah’s blood “will not go unpunished.”

Reports indicate that a high-ranking member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards was also killed in the same airstrike.

Nasrallah was a pivotal leader in the Middle East, commanding thousands of fighters equipped with missiles supplied by Iran, Hezbollah’s primary supporter. The group maintains control over southern Lebanon and its nearly one million residents, often independently of the fragile Lebanese government.

The Israeli military stated that the strike was executed while senior Hezbollah officials were coordinating operations aimed at attacking Israeli civilians.

The airstrike on Dahieh reverberated throughout Beirut, with a security source telling Reuters that the attack produced a series of extremely powerful blasts that left a crater over 20 yards deep. The number of casualties remains unclear.

Further airstrikes occurred on Saturday, targeting Dahieh and additional locations across Lebanon. Explosions illuminated the night sky, with more strikes reported in the morning, sending smoke billowing over the city.

Nasrallah’s death follows a series of Israeli strikes intended to degrade Hezbollah’s military strength and enable approximately 60,000 residents in northern Israel to safely return to their homes after being evacuated due to ongoing missile fire from Lebanon.

For nearly a year, Hezbollah has escalated its rocket attacks on northern Israel, with tensions escalating further after Hamas’s assault on Israel on October 7, which resulted in 1,200 deaths. In response, Israel carried out military operations in Gaza that resulted in an estimated 40,000 Palestinian deaths, as reported by the Hamas-led Gazan Health Ministry.

U.S. officials express concern that escalating tensions may lead to a larger regional conflict in the Middle East, prompting efforts to broker a cease-fire.

In the past week, over 1,500 individuals have been killed in Lebanon, with more than 90,000 people displaced, adding to the 100,000 already forced to evacuate since October.

A pivotal figure in the ‘Axis of Resistance’

Nasrallah was celebrated by supporters for opposing Israel and defying U.S. influence, while his adversaries labeled him a terrorist leader and a proxy for Iran.

This is a key moment for Iran’s Shia Islamist regime as it vies for power in the Middle East.

“Without a doubt, he is a highly significant leader,” Bazzi told YSL News. “He possesses great charisma and is an exceptional speaker.”

However, Bazzi noted that “His influence has diminished in the Middle East since Hezbollah became actively involved in the Syrian civil war,” a conflict where Hezbollah fighters played a crucial role in sustaining Bashar al Assad’s oppressive government.

Nasrallah’s sway in the region has been evident throughout the ongoing conflict sparked by the Gaza war. Hezbollah has engaged by launching attacks on Israel from southern Lebanon to support its ally Hamas, with Yemeni and Iraqi factions joining as part of an Iran-led “Axis of Resistance.”

“We are confronting a significant battle,” Nasrallah declared in a speech on August 1 at the memorial service for Hezbollah’s top military leader, Fuad Shukr, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

Communication Disruptions and a Shift in Power

However, following a recent attack that left thousands of Hezbollah members wounded and several dead—during which their communication devices malfunctioned due to an apparent Israeli strike—the tide of battle began to turn against them.

In response to the disruption in Hezbollah’s communication, Nasrallah promised retaliation against Israel in a speech on September 19.

“A day of reckoning awaits. What form it will take, its extent, where and how it happens? These are details we will keep among ourselves,” he stated.

Since then, he has not made any public statements.

In the meantime, Israel has intensified its military operations, targeting and killing several high-ranking Hezbollah leaders along with conducting extensive bombardments in areas held by Hezbollah in Lebanon, resulting in hundreds of casualties.

On Friday, Israel reported that its airstrike also took out Ali Karki, whom they identified as the commander of Hezbollah’s southern front, alongside other leaders.

On Friday, Iran accused Israel of employing U.S.-manufactured “bunker buster” bombs in the assault.

Significant Security Failures

“There have evidently been critical security failures within Hezbollah,” Bazzi remarked. “It raises the question of how and why they were active at this time.”

“This is serious and can be quite crippling,” Bazzi added. “Nonetheless, they are established to endure; Nasrallah has asserted this before—an organization that will persist as leaders fall.”

Recognized even by his adversaries for his compelling speech, Nasrallah’s addresses have captivated both supporters and opponents.

Dressed in the black turban symbolizing a descendant of the Prophet Mohammad, Nasrallah has used his speeches to invigorate Hezbollah’s supporters while issuing carefully measured threats, often gesturing dramatically as he spoke.

He became the secretary general of Hezbollah at just 35 in 1992, emerging as the public representative of a once obscure group established by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982 to combat Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.

Following the assassination of his predecessor, Sayyed Abbas al-Musawi, in a helicopter strike by Israel, Nasrallah led Hezbollah to victory when they finally expelled Israeli forces from southern Lebanon in 2000 after an 18-year occupation.

Hezbollah and Israel reached an impasse during the 2006 conflict.