TEL AVIV, September 28. /TASS/. Hassan Nasrallah, leader of the Hezbollah Shia movement, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut on Friday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

"Yesterday (Friday), September 27, 2024, Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Hezbollah terrorist organization and one of its founders, was eliminated by the IDF," the statement reads.

According to the army, Israeli "fighter jets conducted a targeted strike on the Central Headquarters of the Hezbollah terrorist organization, which was located underground embedded under a residential building in the area of Dahieh in Beirut." "The strike was conducted while Hezbollah’s senior chain of command were operating from the headquarters and advancing terrorist activities against the citizens of the State of Israel," the statement says. The attack also killed Ali Karki, the Commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front, and other Hezbollah commanders, the IDF noted.

"During Hassan Nastallah’s 32-year reign as the Secretary General of Hezbollah, he was responsible for the murder of many Israeli civilians and soldiers, and the planning and execution of thousands of terrorist activities," the Israeli army said, adding: "Nasrallah was the central decision-maker and the strategic leader of the organization."

Hezbollah, led by Nasrallah, "joined the Hamas terrorist organization in its war against the State of Israel on October 8," 2023, the IDF noted. "Since then, Hezbollah has been continuing its ongoing and unprovoked attacks on the citizens of the State of Israel, dragging the State of Lebanon and the entire region into a wider escalation. The IDF will continue operating against anyone who promotes and engages in terrorism against the State of Israel and its people," the statement adds.