Rescue teams working in the devastated neighborhood of Beirut, where Hezbollah’s headquarters were located, recovered the body of the organization’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, on Sunday, according to a medical source and a security source who spoke to Reuters. Hezbollah’s announcement on Saturday confirming Nasrallah’s death did not specify how he was killed or when his funeral would take place. The two sources told Reuters that Nasrallah’s body had not sustained direct injuries, and his cause of death was blunt trauma from the force of the explosion.
Exclusive: #Dahiyeh #Hezbollah #HQ Enormous destruction and possibly 100+ people below the rubble but no rescue workers to be seen. Emotions are running high: “#Iran abandonned us!” We are the first media at the scene of the killing of #HassanNasrallah #VTMNIEUWS pic.twitter.com/RuAe1Fym5g
— Robin Ramaekers (@ramaekers_robin) September 29, 2024
The tragic scenes from the neighborhood that was demolished on Friday during the Israeli operation against Hassan Nasrallah were shared via a Twitter post by a correspondent from the Belgian outlet VTM News.
Robin Ramaekers, who was on the scene with his team, reported that over 100 people might still be trapped under the rubble. There are no rescuers in the area, and the general feeling is that “Iran has abandoned us.”
Video footage from Beirut shows the wreckage of a building where Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli operation ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/pT8RI9woj8
— Anadolu English (@anadoluagency) September 29, 2024
At the same time, a video from the Anadolu agency shows the crater created by the massive bombardment, which led to the destruction of the buildings that housed Hezbollah’s headquarters in their basements and resulted in Nasrallah’s death.
The Lebanese army calls for unity among citizens
The Lebanese army today urged citizens to “maintain national unity” and “social peace” following the death of Hezbollah’s leader.
The appeal comes in a country deeply divided among its various communities, tensions that have been reignited by Hezbollah’s decision to open a front with Israel in support of the Palestinian organization Hamas.
“The army calls on citizens to preserve national unity and avoid actions that may affect social peace during this dangerous time,” the army said in a statement.
“The Israeli enemy is trying to implement a plan of destruction and sow discord among the Lebanese,” it added.
Additional troops have been deployed in Beirut since Friday, where tens of thousands of people from Shiite areas have taken refuge after fleeing their homes due to Israeli bombings, a Lebanese army spokesman told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Last night, Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati had already called on the Lebanese to “unite” to preserve social peace.
The United Nations coordinator for Lebanon, Janine Hennis-Plasschaert, also issued a similar call today via the platform X.
“At this critical moment for Lebanon, where uncertainty is widening, it is time for the country to focus on the common interest: a state that can swiftly address security and humanitarian needs,” she said.
The death of Hassan Nasrallah caused a massive shock to his supporters, primarily from the Shiite community, and beyond that, plunged Lebanon into terror.
