‘I Gave The Directive’: Netanyahu Says Killing Nasrallah Was ‘Essential For Israel’, Biden Urges Ceasefire | Updates

After the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah confirmed the death of its leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut strikes, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said assassinating the Hezbollah leader became an “essential condition” for its country to achieve its war goals.

Netanyahu revealed that he gave the order to eliminate Nasrallah as the Hezbollah leader would have quickly rebuilt the capabilities Israel took from the militant group. “Therefore, I gave the directive – and Nasrallah is no longer with us,” the Israeli Prime Minister remarked.

He further credited the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), the Air Force, IDF Intelligence and the Mossad for their long-time operation targeting Hezbollah positions in Lebanon. “Nasrallah’s elimination advances the return of our residents to their homes in the north. It also advances the return of our hostages in the south.”

The killing of the powerful militant group’s leader marks a major escalation in the long-running conflict between Israel and Lebanon, deepening fears of a widened regional war.

In his first public remarks since the killing of Nasrallah, Netanyahu said that the killing of other top Hezbollah commanders was not enough and he decided Nasrallah also needed to be killed. He blamed Nasrallah for being “the architect” of a plan to “annihilate” Israel.

The strikes that killed Nasrallah on Friday targeted a densely populated area and destroyed residential buildings. Israel carried out more strikes Saturday on what it says are Hezbollah positions in Lebanon, killing at least 33 people and wounding 195, according to the country’s health ministry.

Biden Urges Ceasefire In Lebanon

When asked if an Israeli ground incursion into Lebanon was inevitable, US President Joe Biden said on Saturday that it was time for a ceasefire. “It’s time for a ceasefire,” Biden told reporters in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware as tensions in the Middle East continue to rise amid Israel-Lebanon warfare.

In the White House statement, Biden underscored his full-throated support for Israel’s strike on Nasrallah, which occurred while Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly and Biden and others were trying to broker a ceasefire deal.

“Hassan Nasrallah and the terrorist group he led, Hezbollah, were responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade reign of terror. His death from an Israeli airstrike is a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians,” Biden said.

Israel Bombards Beirut

A top Hezbollah leader was killed in a targeted airstrike by Israel in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Saturday, just a day after a strike in the area killed Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that it “eliminated” Hassan Khalil Yassin, who led a unit in Hezbollah’s intelligence division responsible for identifying Israeli military and civilian targets, according to the Times of Israel.

Israel ‘Settled Accounts’

Israel settled the account with a mass murderer responsible for the killing of countless Israelis and many American and French citizens, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his first public statement on Saturday after the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in strikes on Lebanon’s Beirut.

After returning from his trip to the United Nations in New York, the Israeli PM termed Nasrallah’s killing as a ‘historic turning point’. He further said, “If someone rises to kill you, kill him first,” indicating Israel’s widened response to Lebanon in the recent escalation.

Netanyahu added that Nasrallah was the central engine of Iran’s axis of evil. “He and his people were the architects of the plan to destroy Israel. He was not only operated by Iran, he also frequently operated Iran,” he remarked.