Lebanon: Hassan Nasrallah’s body recovered from Beirut crater as Axis of Resistance rally against Israel

The body of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has been recovered from a deep crater in Beirut after a strike from Israel killed the terror chief on Saturday, as the Axis of Resistance rallies against Israel’s “horrible crime”.

Nasrallah’s death dealt a particularly significant blow to the group that he led for 32 years, and it was followed by new Hezbollah rocket fire on Israel, while Iran said his death would be avenged.

US Senator Mark Kelly, who leads a Senate Armed Services subcommittee, said the bomb that Israel used to kill Nasrallah was a US-made 900kg guided weapon.

Nasrallah’s body was recovered intact from the site of Friday’s strike, a medical source and a security source told Reuters on Sunday.

Hezbollah has not yet said when his funeral will be held.

His body reportedly did not have wounds, suggesting he was killed by the blunt force of the massive explosion.

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s deputy commander Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan was also killed in the blast.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi described the attack as a “horrible crime” that will not go unanswered.

“There is no doubt that this horrible crime committed by the Zionist regime (Israel) will not go unanswered,” he said in a statement addressed to the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Major General Hossein Salami.

Earlier on Sunday, the Speak of Iran’s parliament said Iran-aligned armed groups would carry on confronting Israel with Tehran’s help following the killing of Nasrallah, Iranian state media reported.

An alliance known as the Axis of Resistance, built up over decades with Iranian support, includes the Palestinian group Hamas, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Yemen’s Houthis, and various Shi’ite Muslim armed groups in Iraq and Syria.

“We will not hesitate to go to any level in order to help the resistance,” Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said.

He also issued a warning to the United States.

“The US is complicit in all of these crimes and ... has to accept the repercussions,” he said.

Iran’s vice-president for strategic affairs, Mohammad Javad Zarif, when asked about Nasrallah’s assassination, told state media on Sunday Iran would react at an appropriate time of its choosing against Israel.

The vow of vengeance comes as the Houthis say they too will seek revenge for Israeli strikes in Yemen.

Israel launched bombs at Houthi targets in Yemen in response to missiles fired by the Iran-aligned rebels at Israel in recent days.

The Israeli strikes killed at least four people and wounded 33, the Houthi-run Health Ministry said in a statement, and residents said the bombing had caused power outages in most parts of the port city of Hodeidah.

Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, warned that “no place is too far” for the military to strike.

“I visited the IAF (Israeli Air Force) command and control room, where I followed the strike conducted against the Houthi terrorist organisation.

“Our message is clear - for us, no place is too far.”

Israel’s military said in a statement that dozens of aircraft, including fighter jets, had attacked power plants and a sea port in Hodeidah and the port of Ras Issa.

Footage of a fiery explosion in Yemen quickly circulated on social media showing the destruction from the targeted strikes.

- With Reuters