SAD NEWS; Leader Murdered in an air strike!

A woman holds up a painting of Hassan Nasrallah, the late leader of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah who was killed in an Israeli air strike in Beirut days earlier, during a memorial service in Baghdad’s eastern suburb of Sadr City on September 29, 2024 after Iraq officially declared a three-day national mourning period for Nasrallah. (Photo by AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)

Hezbollah vowed on Monday to keep fighting Israel and said it was ready to face any ground operation into Lebanon, after its leader was killed in an air strike that dealt the group a seismic blow.

In a televised address, the Iran-backed group’s deputy chief Naim Qassem said a new leader to replace Hassan Nasrallah, who enjoyed cult status among his supporters, would be selected “at the earliest opportunity”.

Hezbollah began low-intensity cross-border strikes on Israeli troops a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas staged its unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, triggering war in the Gaza Strip.

Israel said earlier this month that it was shifting its focus from Gaza to securing its northern border with Lebanon, in order to allow Israelis displaced since October to return to their homes.

It has also not ruled out a ground offensive in order to achieve its goals.

Israel’s strikes on Lebanon have killed hundreds and forced hundreds of thousands more to flee their homes, and left people across the region fearful of more violence to come.

Qassem said Hezbollah would continue “confronting the Israeli enemy in support of Gaza and Palestine, in defence of Lebanon and its people, and in response to the assassinations and the killing of civilians”.

Warning that any battle with Israel would be long, he said: “We will face any scenario and we are ready if Israel decides to enter by land, the resistance forces are ready for any ground confrontation.”

On the other side of the border, Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant told troops: “The elimination of Nasrallah is an important step, but it is not the final one.”

– Beirut strike –

Most of Israel’s strikes have targeted Hezbollah strongholds in eastern and southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut, the group’s main bastion.

On Monday, a drone strike hit a building in the Cola district in central Beirut, with an armed Palestinian group saying it had killed three of its members.

The strike, the first in the centre of the city in years, sparked panic, with 41-year-old resident Mohammed al-Hoss saying “the kids were in shock” after his house was damaged.

“We are with Gaza and support the Palestinian cause, but our country cannot cope with us going to war,” he said.

“Our country is in a wretched state. They (Israel) finished with Gaza and they have come to Lebanon.”

Lebanon’s health ministry also reported the strike, saying it had killed four people and wounded four others. Israel has yet to comment.

Palestinian Islamist group Hamas later announced that its leader in Lebanon, Fatah Sharif Abu al-Amine, had been killed along with his wife and two children in another strike on Al-Bass refugee camp in south Lebanon.

The Israeli military confirmed it had “eliminated” Sharif in a strike.

Lebanon’s health ministry said six rescuers affiliated with Hezbollah were killed in an Israeli strike Monday