The body of Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was recovered on Sunday, reportedly, from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut.
Narallah's body had no direct wounds and the cause of death appeared to be blunt trauma from the force of the blast, Reuters reported citing sources.
Israel carried out a precise strike at an underground bunker where Nasrallah and several other Hezbollah top commanders were conducting a meeting. The bunker was located 60 feet below a bustling street in south Beirut.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah on Sunday confirmed the death of one of its senior commanders, Ali Karaki, in the Israeli airstrike that killed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday.
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Who was Ali Karaki?
Karaki was a member of Hezbollah's Jihad Council and the commander of the organisation's southern front.
"He was directly and on the ground responsible for leading the southern front with all its axes and units in the support front from 8 October 2023, until his blessed martyrdom," Hezbollah said in a statement.
Karaki had joined Hezbollah during the Lebanese Civil War. Over the years, he rose through the ranks and participated in the 2006 Lebanon War. In September 2019, he was sanctioned by the US.
In February 2024, Israel attempted to assassinate him in a car bombing in Nabatieh, but he was not in the target vehicle.
Iran vows retaliation
Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araqchi, said the killing of Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) deputy commander, by Israel was a “horrible crime”.
“There is no doubt that this horrible crime committed by the Zionist regime (Israel) will not go unanswered,” Araqchi said.
Nilforoushan was killed in the Israeli airstrike on Beirut on Friday.
Amid fears of conflict spreading across the Middle East, European foreign ministers, including the UK, Germany and France, have stepped up calls for a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati is set to chair an emergency meeting on Sunday amid the rising tensions in the region. Over 90,000 people fled southern Lebanon in the wake of the intensified Israeli strikes.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese army urged its citizens to preserve national unity. Following the Hezbollah chief's death, the Lebanese army said it "calls on citizens to preserve national unity and not to be drawn into actions that may affect civil peace at this dangerous and delicate stage."
"The Israeli enemy is working to implement its destructive plans and sow division among Lebanese," the statement further read.
