- September 28, 2024
- 10:00 pm
- Middle East
The liquidation of the leader of the Hezbollah group, designated a terrorist organization in the United States, Hassan Nasralli, according to a statement by US President Joe Biden published on the White House website, is “a manifestation of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis and Lebanese citizens.”
“Hassan Nasrallah and the terrorist group he led, Hezbollah, were responsible for the murder of hundreds of Americans during four decades of terror. His death from an Israeli airstrike represents justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis and Lebanese citizens,” he said.
Biden said the strike that killed Nasrallah “occurred in the broader context of the conflict that began with the attack by Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the United States, on October 7, 2023.”
“The next day, Nasrallah approved the fateful decision to team up with Hamas and open what he called a 'northern front' against Israel,” the White House chief added.
Biden stressed that “the United States fully supports Israel's right to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and any other terrorist groups supported by Iran.”
“Ultimately, our goal is to de-escalate the current conflicts in both Gaza and Lebanon through diplomatic means,” the president said.
Israeli forces carried out new strikes on the morning of September 28 against what they said were Hezbollah targets in southern Beirut and the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, a day after a series of massive bombings of Beirut suburbs targeting Nasrallah and other senior figures.
The Pentagon said Israel did not warn the United States about this operation.
The Iran-backed Lebanese radical group Hezbollah, designated a terrorist organization by the United States, has officially confirmed the death of its leader Hassan Nasrallah. On September 28, the Israel Defense Forces announced the death of Nasrallah as a result of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut.
Nasrallah's Hezbollah, which the US has designated as a terrorist organization while the EU has designated only its paramilitary wing as such and not its political party, has established close ties with other Iranian-backed armed groups, helping to train and arm their fighters.
On September 27, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned at the UN that Israeli actions against Iran-backed Hezbollah would not stop.