Global News Podcast - Hezbollah confirms death of leader Hassan Nasrallah after Israeli strikes on Beirut

Episode Date: September 28, 2024

The Iranian-backed group Hezbollah has described its leader Hassan Nasrallah as a martyr and vowed to continue its battle against Israel. An Israeli Defence Forces spokesman said his death made the world "a safer place".

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his nation's fate? The Global Story brings you unique perspectives from BBC journalists around the world. Find us wherever you get your podcasts. Life and death were two very realistic coexisting possibilities in my life. I didn't even think I'd make it to like my 16th birthday, to be honest. I grew up being scared of who I was. Any one of us at any time can be affected by mental health and addictions. Just taking that first step makes a big difference. It's the hardest step.

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The Global Story brings you unique perspectives from BBC journalists around the world. Find us wherever you get your podcasts. This is a special edition of the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Nick Miles. It's 13 Hours GMT on Saturday 28th September. Hezbollah has confirmed that its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has been killed in an Israeli airstrike. This attack was prepared for a long time, executed at the right moment with great precision, and now we are moving forward with careful preparation for the next steps.

The Iran-backed group vowed to continue its fight against Israel. We hear from our correspondent in Israel about the decision to target Mr Nasrallah and from Beirut about what his death could mean for the movement. Who would replace him and how will Hezbollah's backer, Iran, react? This voice from the streets of Tehran is clear on that. The message is clear. Revenge and revenge. The patience of the people is coming to an end and we want nothing but revenge. Also in this special edition of the Global News Podcast, we look at the prospect of a wider regional war.

Hezbollah has confirmed that Israel killed its veteran leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in a strike on its headquarters in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, on Friday. In a lengthy statement, the Iranian-backed group described him as a martyr and vowed to continue its battle against Israel. Daniel Hagari of the Israeli Defense Forces explained the reason for the killing. They got together at an underground center under a residential building from which they led, designed and commanded the warfare against Israel. Nasrallah is responsible for the murder and abduction of civilians and soldiers from Israel and other places in the world. He is one of Israel's biggest enemies throughout history and was a threat to Israel for decades.

And his killing is making the world a better, safer place. And the battles go on even after the death of Hassan Nasrallah. For the latest, here's John Donison in Jerusalem. There have been dozens of rockets fired into northern Israel this morning and actually in the moments after Israel announced it had killed Hassan Nasrallah, we heard loud explosions as far south as here in Jerusalem, and on the horizon I could see what looked like Hezbollah rockets being intercepted by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence shield. So certainly they have given some sort of response this morning.

The question is, as we've been hearing, where does it go from here? Does the death of Hassan Nasrallah change, if at all, what Israel does next? I don't think it does, to be honest, because I think Israel clearly feels that it has the boot on the throat of Hezbollah at the moment. And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's leader, has said that he is determined to allow those 60,000 Israeli citizens to return to their homes in the north, and he is determined to defeat Hezbollah. So there have been continued airstrikes today, as you were suggesting from those videos you were looking at in Beirut into Lebanon today from Israel and I think that is going to continue. I think it's significant though because up until this point Israel has made the calculation throughout all the war in Gaza and with this growing escalation

in violence on its northern border with Lebanon that Iran who of course backs, founded, funds, gives weapons to Hezbollah, did not want to get involved directly in a wider regional war. Well, the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah is going to put that theory to the test, I think, in the coming days and weeks. Our correspondent John Donison speaking to my colleague Rob Young. Plumes of smoke continue to rise above Beirut as thousands of residents flee their homes. Our correspondent Lina Sinjab is there. The people of Dahye who fled Dahye this morning after the airstrikes, they are stretched out in almost every street in Beirut,

on the seaside, in central town, in downtown. So, I mean, even where I am, I could hear the cries and the yelling of people following the confirmation from Hezbollah on the death of Nasrallah. So, of course, you know, the Shia community, the supporters of Hezbollah are in complete shock. He is a big figure for them, and he represents the strength, the unity. He represents fighting Israel for them, despite the prices that they've been paying repeatedly because of Hezbollah's involvement in violence and hostilities with Israel. But at the same time, I think the whole country is very cautiously waiting in anticipation to see what's going to happen next. This is big news. He is not an ordinary person. He's someone who was almost the decision maker of the fate of

the whole country. They are in the party. They are in every corner of the structure of the state. So, you know, any uncalculated reaction from people who disliked Hezbollah might turn things on the ground into really hostility on an internal level. These are really crucial times in Lebanon, crucial times in terms with what Israel wants to do next, and crucial time in the region as well, because Hezbollah, don't forget, they have presence in Syria, they have presence here, they have presence in Yemen, they have presence in Iraq. So, you know, I think everyone among leadership in Hezbollah,

whoever is left of the leadership of Hezbollah will be recalculating their moves wherever communication is available. Don't forget that, you know, last week's blow of the pager issue have disconnected their communication among their leadership. So they're really hit hard from, you know, the heart of the organization, but now also the head of the organization is eliminated. These are very crucial times, crucial times for, you know, Lebanon and for the safety of the country internally, and in terms of its, you know, the situation with the Israeli intentions to continue with this attack against the group. Lina Sinjab. Let's hear more now on Hassan Nasrallah. He'd not been seen in public for years because of fears of being assassinated by Israel

and was one of the best known and most influential figures in the Middle East. The BBC's Middle East regional editor, Mike Thompson, looks back over his life. He was one of ten children born in East Beirut to a family that wasn't actually particularly religious, it's thought, although he himself was. And from 16 years old, he immersed himself in religious studies, travelled to Iraq, went to Iran. And then he came back and joined Hezbollah

soon after Israel's invasion of Lebanon. And in fact, he was largely credited by many with Israel's pullout many years later and became revered right across the Shia Muslim world. And under his leadership, the group grew massively and became really, he was perhaps the most powerful figure in the country by the end of it, as their numbers grew and their weaponry grew. And the weaponry grew largely off the backing of Iran. We've had the first remarks from Iran's supreme leader, Atala Khamenei, said, we condemn the killing of the defenseless people of Lebanon.

It proved the short-sightedness and foolish policies of the leaders of Israel. It's incumbent upon all Muslims to stand by the people of Lebanon and the proud Hezbollah movement. All eyes are on Iran to see how they react and how in turn Hezbollah reacts to the killing of Mr. Nasrallah. What is the capacity of Hezbollah now, even though we've seen two weeks of degradation, military and throughout the leadership? What's its capacity to respond now? Well, I think the capacity of Hezbollah is still pretty strong. Although, as you say, we've seen so many of their senior commanders assassinated by the communication devices incident, by several airstrikes, and of course, most notably, the death of their leader. But nonetheless,

this is a group with an estimated 150,000 rockets and missiles. And some of these missiles are quite effective at long range, you could hit virtually any target in Israel and potentially, if they couldn't be knocked out by the Israeli forces, could cause quite serious damage and loss of life in Israel. And Mike, I suppose before we go on, we should differentiate Hezbollah, which is a military, a political and a social movement, from Lebanon, because there is a Lebanese army, isn't there? 70,000 strong. How does that fit into the mix, if at all? Well, the Lebanese government has said that if Israel does launch a ground defence, that would then involve the Lebanese army proper. Although it has to be said that Hezbollah is thought to be actually more powerful and better armed than the Lebanese army.

But nonetheless, there is a significant number of soldiers in the Lebanese army. But nonetheless, there are a significant number of soldiers in the Lebanese army. So that would be another thing that Israel would have to deal with if it did launch this potential possible ground offensive. Mike Thompson, this is a special edition of the Global News podcast. Hezbollah has confirmed that its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, has been killed in an Israeli airstrike. Now, without Iran, Hezbollah's influence and military strength would be minimal. The Shia organisation has been used by Tehran for decades to project its power across the region. Anti-Israeli protesters have gathered in the Iranian capital, Tehran, in support of Hezbollah. One of the demonstrators, Mohamed Mousavi, said he wanted revenge for Israel's latest actions.

The message is clear. Revenge and revenge. The patience of the people is coming to an end, and we want nothing but revenge. And if there's any chance that the news of the martyrdom of Hassan Nasrallah is true, it's no different from the martyrdom of General Soleimani. It will cause us the same anger towards Israel, and it will only bring Israel's end closer for us. There must be an answer, and it must be very soon, because I don't think people can wait any longer. Well, for years, the Iranian military has trained Hezbollah fighters and also sent rockets and missiles to Lebanon to fire at targets in Israel. Money has also flooded into its proxy over the years. I asked Sirvash Adlan from our Persian service just how important Hassan Nasrallah

was to the Iranians. We've had a response, a communique that was issued by Iran's supreme leader. Very underwhelming given what's been happening. No mention of Hassan Nasrallah's killing in the IDF attack. He is simply assuring his audience that Israel will lose in Lebanon as it did in Gaza. Obviously a disappointment for a lot of Iranian hardliners who have been calling for Iran to get involved in this, they understand, of course, the importance and significance of Hezbollah as a force of deterrence for Iran. I mean, this was a group. It was not just meant there to be an actor in Lebanon, but also to swing into action if ever there was a confrontation between Iran and Israel. And then Israel decided to, let's say, launch attacks against Iran's nuclear installations, it was always thought that Hezbollah would then swing into action and unleash its arsenal of weapons against Israel.

So they understand the significance of this loss. Nevertheless, Iranian IRGC officials, many of whom have trained Hezbollah, who know this organisation very well, are saying in various interviews that Hezbollah will not be damaged because of this, that there are other people that will replace it. There are lots of moving parts to this story. And the news of Nasrallah's death has been met with raw emotion in downtown Beirut. I spoke to Nafisa Khonavad, also from the BBC's Persian service, who's there to give me a sense of what it's like right now on the streets of the Lebanese capital.

We are actually right now in downtown Beirut where many families who fled last night from Dahia spend their night here in a park and they are still here so desperate. They don't know when they can go back home. They don't have any place. Some of them, they don't have a place to go back. And right now that I'm talking to you,

there is three other explosions heard from Dahia. So it seems that Israel is still attacking Dahir. This is the situation. And a while ago, I saw a few families living in a van. I asked them where they are going. They were Syrian families, and among them also Lebanese families, that they are going back to Syria because they think Syria is now safer than Beirut.

And other part of the city that has nothing to do with Hezbollah, also until morning everyone heard explosion after explosion. So you can imagine what kind of state of, like what is the mood here. Because my neighbor, for example, last night texted me that Beirut is becoming another Gaza. And we live in a Christian area, but we still could hear massive explosions as if that is happening near us. It's important to note, isn't it, that there are many people caught up in the situation in Lebanon who not only don't support Hezbollah, but who are actively hostile to them. Yes, and they are so angry because they blame Hezbollah that Hezbollah took Lebanon, not only itself, to a war with Israel.

And the thing is that even that view we could sense among people that fled from Dahir, people that fled from southern Lebanon, which we spent the last few days with them in a school that they took refuge in Beirut. And many of them told us that despite they are supporting Palestinians and also they are supporting Gaza, but they don't see it as their war. Some of them, they told us, of course, some of them were supporting Hezbollah fully, but many of them told us that they don't see that it was a war, that they should pay a price for that.

That was Nafisa Kunavad from the BBC Persian service. As we've been hearing, the death of the Hezbollah chief, Hassan Nasrallah, has been confirmed, sending shockwaves throughout the region. Here's our Middle East analyst, Sebastian Asher, on what is a very significant moment for the Middle East. Well, I mean, you look towards Iran, obviously. Iran had promised after the killing of the Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran a couple of months ago now, that it would exact a very, very strong revenge on Israel, although Israel has never confirmed it carried out that attack. It hasn't done so, essentially. This is the moment, you would think, when its

absolute key ally, Hassan Nasrallah, in the region, its jewel, essentially, of all its proxies, of all its forces, of its foreign strategy, essentially, has been severely damaged, wounded, almost put out of action. The Israeli army has put out a graphic showing all the top leadership of Hezbollah, including Hassan Nasrallah, now saying that they've been eliminated. Last week, the Pager attack with communications essentially down. So it, I mean, Hezbollah, whatever it may be doing publicly, and the fact that it can still fire missiles, rockets, as it has done since the attack on Friday evening that appears to have killed Hassan Nasrallah, has still carried out those attacks,

but nowhere near the force that has been threatened. Would Iran now tell Hezbollah what is left of Hezbollah, what abilities it still has to unleash its capability? Would Iran itself be comfortable in taking Israel and potentially the US on in a direct conflict? I think the thinking behind that would still be no. In Lebanon itself, internally, I think this is a very dangerous moment. There are many there who are against Hezbollah for all sorts of reasons and will, to some extent, at least privately, be celebrating the death of Hassan Nasrallah. But at the same time, they're not only fearing what may happen

in terms of how Hezbollah reacts, how Iran reacts reacts and what Israel will do next, but also their own country. Hassan Nasrallah has been the key figure in Lebanon for years, politically, militarily. He's now removed. Hezbollah is weakened. There's a power vacuum. Lebanon remains fragile in many, many ways, but it remains fragile even in the way that it was during the civil war. There are still the different factions, the different groups. And, you know, there is a possibility that the unrest that we've seen arise from time to time internally could return without Hezbollah being able to have that central role anymore, even though many there will celebrate its weakness.

Well, Hezbollah has vowed to continue its fight against Israel. Israel says the death of Hassan Nasrallah has dealt a blow to the group and made the world a safer place. So let's get the thoughts now of our international editor, Jeremy Bowen. It's a huge moment. It's a huge moment because of the stature of the man among his followers and the fact that for Israel, he has been in so many ways public enemy number one for a very long time. He presided over Hezbollah as it was built into a very formidable fighting force with the help of Iran. It made the occupation of Israel in the 1980s and 90s so difficult for

the Israelis that in 2000, they pulled out. 2006, there was a war in which they fought Israel pretty much to a standstill. Since then, he's been more of a controversial figure inside Lebanon because Hezbollah has been seen. It used to be seen 2006. He was seen as a national hero by many people. But then Hezbollah became rather overmighty, cruel, difficult, oppressive. And that made him less popular among people who weren't part of his true faithful. But, you know, the Israelis are cock-a-hoop about this because this is a man who they saw as an absolute symbol of all those people who are out to destroy them, Iran and its allies. And they see this correctly as an enormous blow to that Iran-led alliance.

It's an enormous blow. Is it a decisive blow? Or does it in reality not change much on the conflict that has taken place? Well, we don't know really. I mean, it's getting slightly into the realms of speculation to try and predict the way things will go. But I think what we can say is that they are not about to surrender Hezbollah. And the Israelis have reflected that because there's just been a briefing by the army, the Israeli army, in which they announced that they are banning public gatherings of more than

a thousand people, that they're telling people to be careful, stay close to their shelters. So they clearly are expecting some kind of a response, a fierce one potentially. But I think from the other side, from those commanders who remain in Hezbollah and the undoubted younger generation who will rise up to take some of these posts since so many of the senior figures have been killed in the last few months, they might, with the Iranians, think, well, hang on a minute. If we try and just throw everything at Israel, they'll just hit us even harder, and maybe even the Americans will get involved. So they don't want that.

They might try a more clever response. But now I'm getting to the realms of speculation because I have no idea really what's going through their heads, except I think what we have to know, what we must realise, is they will be reeling now from an absolutely seismic blow. And we're going to hear an Iranian voice in just a moment because there are so many questions about what if when it comes to the response of various countries and various groups. And all the while, the West is apparently powerless,

despite the US providing the while, the West is apparently powerless, despite the US providing the weapons and the planes that were probably used in that attack on Beirut. Well, the Americans, backed by their Western allies, had a different scenario, not all-out war in Lebanon and perhaps in a wider part of the region, but their plan, which they've been trying to make happen over, well, really the last year, is to have a political agreement. And they've had an envoy in the region, a political agreement based on the UN Security Council Resolution 1701

that ended the 2006 war, in which Hezbollah would have to retreat from the Israeli border and stop attacking Israel. And the Nasrallah, while he was alive, had said that their attacks on Israel would continue until there was a ceasefire in Lebanon. So perhaps by calling for, sorry, a ceasefire in Gaza, I beg your pardon. So perhaps by calling for that 21-day truce, which even yesterday at the United Nations, they were hoping that perhaps Prime Minister Netanyahu would go towards accepting it, which, of course, he didn't. But I think they were hoping that if there was a 21-day window of opportunity

for the diplomats, you never know, they might get close to a Gaza ceasefire. Had they done that, Hezbollah might have ceased fire themselves, would have given them a face saving way out. But instead, the Israelis have thought, well, that's not acceptable. Like Hamas, they don't really they don't want to cease fire at the moment in Gaza. And so they have gone in very, very hard and they will be patting themselves on the back for inflicting some absolutely grievous blows on one of their most obdurate enemies. That was Jeremy Bowen speaking to Rob Young. You've been listening to the special edition of the Global News Podcast.

There will be a new edition with news from around the world later on. This edition was mixed by Jack Wilford and the producer was Rebecca Wood. The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Nick Miles and until next time, goodbye. Life and death were two very realistic coexisting possibilities in my life. I didn't even think I'd make it to like my 16th birthday, to be honest. I grew up being scared of who I was. Any one of us at any time can be affected by mental health and addictions.

Just taking that first step makes a big difference. It's the hardest step. But CAMH was there from the beginning. Everyone deserves better mental health care to hear more stories of recovery visit camh.ca what does hezbollah want why is kenya getting involved in haiti what can the world's biggest iceberg tell us the inquiry one big question can we trust google four witnesses. Time for our second expert witness. And an answer.

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