Russia 'decisively condemns' Hezbollah chief's killing
The influence he had over Lebanon's institutions and Hezbollah's formidable arsenal, his death is bound to have ripple effects across the country and the wider region
Published: 04:09 PM,Sep 28,2024 | EDITED : 08:09 PM,Sep 28,2024
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the Shiyah neighbourhood of Beirut's southern suburbs. — AFP
Russia on Saturday strongly condemned Israel for killing Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and urged it to immediately cease military action in Lebanon. 'We decisively condemn the latest political murder carried out by Israel,' the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement, adding: 'we once again insistently urge Israel to immediately cease military action.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Israel was committing a 'genocide' in Lebanon after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was confirmed among hundreds killed in Israeli strikes this week. 'Lebanon and the Lebanese people are the latest target of a policy of genocide, occupation and invasion carried out by Israel since October 7,' Erdogan wrote on X, without directly referring to Nasrallah's death.
Slain Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, whose death was confirmed on Saturday by his movement, wielded great power in Lebanon but led a life in hiding to avoid assassination by his group's arch-enemy, Israel. Lebanon's most powerful man and the only one in the tiny Mediterranean country with the power to wage war, Nasrallah was killed aged 64 in a wave of Israeli strikes on Friday on Hezbollah's main bastion in south Beirut.
The influence he had over Lebanon's institutions and Hezbollah's formidable arsenal, his death is bound to have ripple effects across the country and the wider region. Nasrallah was rarely seen in public since his movement fought a devastating 2006 war with Israel.
Meanwhile, the UN refugee chief said on Saturday that more than 50,000 people had fled to Syria amid escalating Israeli air strikes on Lebanon. 'More than 50,000 Lebanese and Syrians living in Lebanon have now crossed into Syria fleeing Israeli air strikes,' Filippo Grandi said on X. He added that 'well over 200,000 people are displaced inside Lebanon'.
A UNHCR spokesman said the total number of displaced in Lebanon had reached 211,319, including 118,000 just since Israel dramatically ramped up its air strikes on Monday.
The remainder had fled their homes since Hezbollah militants in Lebanon began low-intensity cross-border attacks a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas staged its attack on Israel on October 7, triggering war in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has shifted the focus of its operation from Gaza to Lebanon, where heavy bombing has killed more than 700 people, according to Lebanon's health ministry, as cross-border exchanges escalated over the past week. Most of those Lebanese deaths came on Monday, the deadliest day of violence since Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war. — AFP
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Israel was committing a 'genocide' in Lebanon after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was confirmed among hundreds killed in Israeli strikes this week. 'Lebanon and the Lebanese people are the latest target of a policy of genocide, occupation and invasion carried out by Israel since October 7,' Erdogan wrote on X, without directly referring to Nasrallah's death.
Slain Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, whose death was confirmed on Saturday by his movement, wielded great power in Lebanon but led a life in hiding to avoid assassination by his group's arch-enemy, Israel. Lebanon's most powerful man and the only one in the tiny Mediterranean country with the power to wage war, Nasrallah was killed aged 64 in a wave of Israeli strikes on Friday on Hezbollah's main bastion in south Beirut.
The influence he had over Lebanon's institutions and Hezbollah's formidable arsenal, his death is bound to have ripple effects across the country and the wider region. Nasrallah was rarely seen in public since his movement fought a devastating 2006 war with Israel.
Meanwhile, the UN refugee chief said on Saturday that more than 50,000 people had fled to Syria amid escalating Israeli air strikes on Lebanon. 'More than 50,000 Lebanese and Syrians living in Lebanon have now crossed into Syria fleeing Israeli air strikes,' Filippo Grandi said on X. He added that 'well over 200,000 people are displaced inside Lebanon'.
A UNHCR spokesman said the total number of displaced in Lebanon had reached 211,319, including 118,000 just since Israel dramatically ramped up its air strikes on Monday.
The remainder had fled their homes since Hezbollah militants in Lebanon began low-intensity cross-border attacks a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas staged its attack on Israel on October 7, triggering war in the Gaza Strip.
Israel has shifted the focus of its operation from Gaza to Lebanon, where heavy bombing has killed more than 700 people, according to Lebanon's health ministry, as cross-border exchanges escalated over the past week. Most of those Lebanese deaths came on Monday, the deadliest day of violence since Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war. — AFP