World leaders react to Israel's killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah
World leaders mostly condemned the killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah by Israel or warned of the possible consequences
4 min read
A portrait of Hezbollah's Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, who lost his life after Israeli army's airstrike which was carried out by F-35 fighter jets, is hung on a building in Beirut, Lebanon on September 29, 2024. (Photo by Houssam Shbaro/Anadolu)
World leaders warned of potential repercussions on Saturday after Lebanese group Hezbollah confirmed that its longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli air strike on a suburb of Beirut.
The killing of the Iran-backed group's chief has intensified fears of all-out war in the Middle East, with states across the region condemning it.
US President Joe Biden however claimed that it was "a measure of justice".
First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref warned Israel that Nasrallah's death would "bring about their destruction", Iran's ISNA news agency quoted him as saying.
The foreign ministry of Iran, which finances and arms Hezbollah, said Nasrallah's work will continue after his death.
"His sacred goal will be realised in the liberation of Jerusalem, God willing," spokesman Nasser Kanani posted on X.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced five days of public mourning.
Biden claimed Nasrallah's death was "a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis and Lebanese civilians".
In a statement, Biden reiterated support for what he called "Israel's right to defend itself" against "Iranian-supported terrorist groups", adding that the "defence posture" of US forces in the region would be "further enhanced".
Vice President Kamala Harris claimed that Nasrallah was "a terrorist with American blood on his hands" and also expressed support for what she said was "Israel's right to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis."
Leading Republicans in the House of Representatives also welcomed Nasrallah's assassination.
Russia's foreign ministry said "we decisively condemn the latest political murder carried out by Israel" and urged it to "immediately cease military action" in Lebanon.
Israel would "bear full responsibility" for the "tragic" consequences the killing could bring to the region, the ministry added in a statement.
Despite Germany's strongly pro-Israel stance throughout the Gaza war, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told ARD television that the killing "threatens destabilisation for the whole of Lebanon", which "is in no way in Israel's security interest".
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau claimed Nasrallah as "the leader of a terrorist organization that attacked and killed innocent civilians, causing immense suffering across the region".
But he called for more to be done to protect civilians in the conflict, adding: "We urge calm and restraint during this critical time."
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said in a post on X that he had spoken with the Lebanese premier.
"We agreed on the need for an immediate ceasefire to bring an end to the bloodshed. A diplomatic solution is the only way to restore security and stability for the Lebanese and Israeli people," he said.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot demanded Israel "immediately stop its strikes in Lebanon" and said it was opposed to any ground operation in the country.
France also "calls on other actors, notably Hezbollah and Iran, to abstain from any action that could lead to additional destabilisation and regional conflagration", the foreign ministry said in a statement.
UN chief Antonio Guterres said he was "gravely concerned by the dramatic escalation of events in Beirut in the last 24 hours".
Palestinian group Hamas, whose surprise October 7 attack on Israel drew in fellow Iran-backed groups including Hezbollah, called Nasrallah's killing "a cowardly terrorist act".
"We condemn in the strongest terms this barbaric Zionist aggression and targeting of residential buildings," Hamas said in a statement.
Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas offered his "deep condolences" to Lebanon for the deaths of Hassan Nasrallah and Lebanese civilians, who "fell as a result of the brutal Israeli aggression", according to a statement from his office.
The Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi rebels, who have been firing on ships in the Red Sea in solidarity with Gaza, said in a statement that Nasrallah's killing "will increase the flame of sacrifice, the heat of enthusiasm, the strength of resolve" against Israel, with their leader vowing Nasrallah's death "will not be in vain".
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose country maintains diplomatic relations with Israel but who has been a sharp critic of its offensive in Gaza, said on X that Lebanon was being subjected to a "genocide", without referring directly to Nasrallah.
In a post on X, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel called the killing a "cowardly targeted assassination" that "seriously threatens regional and global peace and security, for which Israel bears full responsibility with the complicity of the United States."
Right-wing Argentine President Javier Milei, who has strongly supported Israel, reposted on X a message from a member of his council of economic advisers, David Epstein, who hailed the killing.
"Israel eliminated one of the greatest contemporary murderers. Responsible, among others, for the cowardly attacks in #ARG," it said. "Today the world is a little freer".
Saudi foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told the UN that "this escalation will have... negative repercussions for the entire region".
"We call upon all parties to show wisdom and to show restraint in order to avoid a true war from breaking out in the region."
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro expressed solidarity with Nasrallah and Lebanon.
"They want to justify it, but to assassinate him, they attacked buildings, housing estates and killed hundreds of people. There's a word for this: crime."
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