According to “The Washington Post,” U.S. and Israeli officials have disclosed that the United States has cautioned Israel that the assassination of Hezbollah‘s Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah could lead to a regional war.
The report indicates that prior to the Palestinian Hamas movement’s attacks on October 7, 2023, Israel had planned a preemptive strike against Hezbollah and its leader, fearing a retaliatory attack from the group.
The newspaper adds that President Joe Biden personally contacted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, advising him that assassinating Nasrallah would likely result in a regional conflict and requested restraint from conducting such strikes.
President Biden earlier stated that Washington was unaware of and did not participate in the Israeli attack that targeted the southern suburbs of Beirut last Friday.
The U.S. Department of Defense, Pentagon, confirmed that Israel had not informed it about its operation in Beirut and was not involved in any capacity.
In a major escalation, Israel assassinated the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, in airstrikes targeting southern Beirut yesterday. Israeli officials confirmedthat Abbas Nilforushan, the Iranian Quds Force Commander in Lebanon, was also killed in the attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs.
This news follows the Israeli military’s official announcement earlier today that Nasrallah was killed in the airstrikes on Friday, which targeted Hezbollah’s command centre in southern Beirut.
The Israeli army spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, stated in a press release that the strike on the southern suburb led to Nasrallah’s death.
In addition to Nasrallah, the commander of Hezbollah’s southern front, Ali Karaki, along with several other senior leaders, were killed in the same attack.
After a prolonged period of silence, Hezbollah issued a formal statement confirming Nasrallah’s death. Nasrallah had led the group for 32 years.
