2024-09-29
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[text/observer network xiong chaoran] as hamas launches an attack on israel on october 7 last year and this round of escalation of the palestinian-israeli conflict is about to complete one year, the leader of lebanese hezbollah nasrallah nasrallah announced at the local time he was confirmed to have died in a terrorist attack by the israeli army on september 28. the tension in the middle east, which had already reached its limit, was about to collapse.
according to cnn, citing two u.s. officials on september 28, local time, as the israel defense forces mobilizes troops to the border, the united states believes that israel may conduct a "limited ground invasion" of lebanon. incursion). regarding the possibility of launching ground operations, the military has made repeated statements in recent days.
after nasrallah was killed in the attack, many parties in the middle east responded one after another. the follow-up responses of hezbollah's regional ally iran and the united states, which was accused of "complicity", and who hezbollah will be led by have attracted attention. earlier, a pentagon spokesman responded that the united states was not involved and had no prior warning about the israeli army’s attack on the hezbollah headquarters in beirut on the 27th.
on september 28, local time, the white house website released a statement by u.s. president biden on the death of nasrallah. the statement stated that nasrallah’s death in an israeli air crash was “a huge blow to thousands of americans and israelis.” and a measure of justice for the many victims, including lebanese civilians.” biden emphasized that "the united states supports israel's self-defense" and the ultimate goal is to de-escalate the current conflicts in gaza and lebanon through diplomatic means.
cnn reported on september 28, local time, citing two u.s. officials that as israel increases its troops to the northern border (that is, in the direction of southern lebanon), the united states believes that the israeli military may conduct a "limited ground invasion" of lebanon. however, the officials emphasized that , it seems that israel has not yet made a decision on whether to conduct ground operations. one of the officials said the u.s. assessment was based on israeli military mobilization and area clearing operations, possibly in preparation for a ground operation.
on september 25, local time, israeli chief of staff herzi halevi said that israel was preparing for the possible entry of ground troops into lebanon. earlier on september 28, local time, an israel defense forces spokesperson said that the israeli military was preparing for the possibility of ground operations, but this was only one option being considered. israel has stated that its goal is to return more than 60,000 residents of northern israel near the lebanese border to their homes.
shortly before the news of nasrallah's death came out, a senior israeli official said that israel did not want to launch a ground attack on lebanon. "our preference is not to conduct ground operations," the official said.
on the same day, biden stated in a statement released through the white house website that nasrallah and the lebanese terrorist organization hezbollah led by nasrallah killed hundreds of americans during their 40-year reign of terror, and that he was killed in an israeli air strike. his death was "justice" for the many people he killed, thousands of whom included americans, israelis and lebanese civilians.
biden said that the airstrike that killed nasrallah occurred against the background of the conflict caused by hamas's attack on israel on october 7 last year. the united states fully supports israel in defending itself against hezbollah and hamas in lebanon. , yemen’s houthi armed forces and any other iranian-backed terrorist organizations. just the day before, he had instructed us defense secretary austin to further strengthen the us military's defense posture in the middle east to curb violations and reduce the risk of wider regional conflicts.
the statement also stated that the united states aims to de-escalate the current conflicts in gaza and lebanon through diplomatic means. in gaza, the united states has been working hard to win the united nations security council's support for an agreement to cease fire and release hostages; in lebanon, the united states has also been negotiating an agreement to ensure the safe return of people to their homes in israel and southern lebanon. "now is the time for these agreements to be reached, to eliminate threats to israel and to achieve greater stability in the broader middle east," the statement concluded.
at the same time, as the democratic candidate for this year's u.s. presidential election, u.s. vice president harris also released a statement with roughly the same content as biden through the white house website.
according to an american broadcasting corporation (abc) report on september 28, local time, pentagon spokesman pat ryder said in a statement that day that us defense secretary austin had twice contacted israel about attacks on lebanon. defense secretary galante spoke on the phone and "expressed full support for israel's right to protect its country and its people from iranian-backed terrorist groups." "the secretary of defense made it clear that the united states remains prepared to protect our troops and installations in the region and is committed to the defense of israel," ryder said.
according to previous reports from the lebanese national news agency, reuters, etc., from the evening of september 27 to the early morning of september 28, local time, israel launched a series of air strikes on the southern suburbs of beirut, the lebanese capital, and caused a large number of casualties. an idf spokesman said the target was the lebanese hezbollah headquarters. many foreign media also reported, citing sources, that hezbollah leader nasrallah himself was the target of the attack.
late on september 28, local time, the israel defense forces announced that lebanese hezbollah leader nasrallah had died in a "new order" attack previously launched by the israeli army. subsequently, on the same day, at 14:34 local time in beirut (19:34 beijing time), the lebanese hezbollah-owned media beacon confirmed the news and published a eulogy for nasrallah.
according to nbc, an israeli official said israel decided to assassinate nasrallah after deciding that he would not accept any diplomatic solution to end the fighting on the border between israel and lebanon.
"more than 11 months later, we find nasrallah insisting on tying himself and parts of lebanese territory he controls to anything that happens in gaza," the official told nbc news. "he has resisted all our diplomatic efforts. he refusing to stop associating himself with gaza, he has continued to fire on israel, even increasing the scope and pace of his attacks over the past few weeks and months."
he added: "this made it clear to us that he could no longer be part of the war. what we did was conduct a very precise, intelligence-based strike on hezbollah's headquarters in beirut to ensure that nasrallah was no longer decision-makers in the region.”
nasrallah was born in 1960 in a suburb of beirut, lebanon. at the age of 16, he went to najaf, the shiite holy land in iraq, to study religion. in 1982, he joined the newly established lebanese hezbollah. in february 1992, after the then leader of hezbollah mousavi was killed in an israeli air strike, 31-year-old nasrallah took over as the leader of hezbollah.
under nasrallah's leadership, hezbollah transformed from a guerrilla armed organization into a powerful transnational paramilitary force in the middle east, becoming an important part of the "arc of resistance" led by iran. however, experts on hezbollah believe that nasrallah is not an "agent" of iran, but more like a collaborator.
for the common anti-american and anti-israel cause, nasrallah’s troops helped other members of the “arc of resistance” such as the palestinian islamic resistance movement (hamas), iraqi shiite militia, and yemeni houthi armed forces to train fighters. especially after the united states beheaded iranian general soleimani in 2020, nasrallah was regarded as the number two figure in the "arc of resistance" after iran's supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei.
on september 28, local time, after the lebanese hezbollah leader nasrallah was killed by the israeli army, iran’s supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei issued a statement in response to the recent situation in lebanon, but the statement did not contain any action plan against israel. there was no mention of nasrallah either.
according to updates on khamenei’s social platform account, he said that israel’s massacre of unarmed people in lebanon once again exposed israel’s barbaric nature. “this once again proves the short-sightedness of israeli leaders.”
khamenei pointed out that the israeli government has not learned lessons from its actions in gaza. "the collective killing of women, children and civilians cannot weaken or overthrow the solid foundation of the resistance organization." the lebanese people have not forgotten that it was hezbollah that stopped the invaders from advancing toward beirut. the lebanese people are proud of hezbollah.
khamenei called on muslims to "make every effort to support the lebanese people and hezbollah and help them fight against the evil israeli regime." "the fate of this region will be determined by the resistance forces spearheaded by hezbollah," he said.
in this regard, al jazeera believed that "contrary to people's expectations, there was no action plan against israel in this message." however, khamenei issued this statement after nasrallah's death to express iran's continued support for hezbollah. , the diplomatic principle of supporting the just cause of the palestinian people.
iranian foreign ministry spokesman nasser kanani said on social media on september 28 that although nasrallah has died, his path will continue. iranian president pezeshizyan echoed supreme leader khamenei's previous statement that nasrallah's death "will only further strengthen resistance" and said that the united states cannot deny its role in this "terrorist attack."
at the same time, many parties including hamas, yemen's houthi armed forces, iraq, turkey, france and others also responded to nasrallah's death. in september, mélenchon, leader of the french far-left party "informed france" and former member of the european parliament, on the 28th, he even criticized the united states and israel angrily.
mélenchon said that because israeli prime minister netanyahu has not been punished for his actions, his "crimes" will continue, "which is extremely dangerous for the region and the world." "netanyahu, with the complicity of europe and the united states, has violated the sovereignty of countries in the region. the genocide in gaza is spreading without end."
according to the israel defense forces, based on accurate intelligence, the israeli army carried out a targeted attack on the lebanese hezbollah headquarters located in a residential building in dahiye, a southern suburb of beirut, on the evening of september 27. at that time, lebanese hezbollah senior leaders were meeting. in addition to nasrallah, hezbollah commander in southern lebanon ali karki and others were also killed in an israeli air strike on the 27th.
in addition, a reporter from the main station learned on september 28, local time, that abbas nirfussan, deputy commander of the iranian islamic revolutionary guards corps' "quds force" and commander of the lebanese branch of the "quds force", launched an attack on beirut, the capital of lebanon, in israel. "we were killed together with hezbollah leader nasrallah" in the attack.
reuters pointed out that after nasrallah’s death, his cousin hashem safieddine was widely regarded as a possible successor. safiedine is the chairman of hezbollah’s executive committee and is responsible for overseeing hezbollah’s political affairs. he is also a member of hezbollah’s jihad council, which manages the group’s military operations.
in the eyes of the western media, safiedine's family relationship, physical similarity to nasrallah, and status as a cleric all favor him in inheriting the mantle. safiedine has been an outspoken critic of u.s. policy. in response to u.s. pressure on hezbollah, he said in 2017 that "this insane, crazy u.s. government headed by trump will not be able to harm the resistance," adding that such actions will only strengthen hezbollah's determination.
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