Washington, DC, – President Biden said on Saturday the killing of Hassan Nasrallahthe general leader of the Iran-backed group Hezbollahon Friday’s plane crash in Beirut, Lebanon has been “a measure of justice,” for many of his victims.
In a statement issued by the White House, Mr. Biden said that “Nasrallah and the terrorist group he led, Hezbollah, are responsible for the murder of hundreds of Americans during the fourteen years of his reign of terror,” including thousands of Israelis and Lebanese citizens. The killing of Nasrallah, the statement said took place in the wider context of the conflict that began with the massacre of Hamas on October 7, 2023, happened after the leader of Hezbollah “made a bad decision to join Hamas and open what he called “the north” against Israel.”
Hezbollah has been firing rockets and drones at the southern border of Lebanon into Israel for the past year during the country’s war with Hamas.
Nasrallah was killed on the spot a series of large explosions targeting the leaders of the militant group, which started with the explosion of many pagers across Lebanon on September 18 at least 12 people died – including members of the group terrorist group Hezbollah and two children – and injured several thousand, according to Lebanon’s public health minister.
The strikes have escalated in recent days, with a top US administration official calling the situation between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon “fragile and dangerous.” In addition to 500 people were killed in Lebanon on Monday, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, as missiles hit residential buildings. Israel said it was looking for Hezbollah weapons hidden in the building.
The chaos in the Middle East overshadowed Mr. Biden – and his last year as president. His administration said the US “fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and any other terrorist groups supported by Iran,” and ordered the Secretary of Defense to “enhance” the US defense posture. . military forces in the Middle East.
Mr. Biden said in a statement at the end that his administration intends to defuse the ongoing disputes through official means.
In the middle his last speech to the United Nations General Assembly as the president on Thursday said Mr. Biden, “a total war nobody wants.”