The honour of imam hussein, peace be upon him. In achieving the highest level of faith and pure worship. A martyr on the Path Ofjerusalem and palestine. Our Security Correspondent, frank gardner, reports on this latest escalation of the conflict between israel and hezbollah. Heavy artillery fire. A devastating blow inflicted by israel, hitting the heart of hezbollah� s Command Centre in beirut. Within hours, the Israeli Military announced they had eliminated, as they put it, the groups leader. Hassan nasrallah had been Secretary General of hezbollah for 32 years, overseeing its growth into the worlds most heavily armed non state army. He was born in lebanon in 1960, growing up in beirut� s eastern bourj hammoud district. He took over The Leadership in 1992 when his predecessor was assassinated by israel. To thousands, maybe millions of Shia Muslims in lebanon and beyond, he was a hero. To israel, he was a wanted terrorist. Armed with up to the minute intelligence, the israeli Air Force targeted the underground bunker where hezbollah� s leadership was meeting. This is both a major escalation and a challenge to iran. Translation this is not | the limit of our capabilities. We must be very clear, there are more tools at our disposal and the message is simple anyone who threatens the state of israel will be reached, whether in the north, the south or even a more distant places. Hezbollah� s power has been seriously weakened by the recent assassinations, the sabotage of its communications and Air Strikes on its weapon dumps. But it still possesses powerful long range missiles, hidden underground. Will they now aim these at Tel Aviv and other cities in revenge . Will israel send troops into lebanon to find and destroy them 7 and can hezbollah recover from all these blows . I probably think they will fight on. Theyll take a few days to reorganise their Command And Control that has been utterly destroyed by very good israeli intelligence and incredible tactics, but its not strategy. Hezbollah� s strategic ally is iran. Key to what happens next in the Middle East is what Ayatollah Khamenei decides. Iran has been humiliated but can it ill afford a war with israel. Frank gardner, Bbc News. The idf� s spokesman rear Admiral Daniel Hagari made this statement confirming the death of the Hezbollah Leader. The leader of the terrorist army, hezbollah, was killed by Israel Defense forces in a precise strike in beirut Last Night while he was in Hezbollah Central Headquarters commanding more imminent attacks against the people of israel. For decades, hezbollah under the command of Hassan Nasrallah orchestrated countless attacks on innocent people. Hassan nasrallah had the blood of thousands of men, women, children on his hands. Israeli, jews, jews across the world, lebanese, american, british, french, syrian and other countless victims across the Middle East and beyond. The Idf Spokesman making that statement earlier in the day. Lets take a look at these live pictures on your screen of the skies above beirut. We have been reporting that our correspondence have been spotting thick smoke rising over several locations in the south of the lebanese city. As the Air Strikes by israel have continued on our correspondence and teams on the ground in beirut have been reporting for our Bbc Website live page that they have been driving around they have been driving around the stronghold in the south and seeing black smoke rising several hours after the recent strikes with people leaving the area. A place that would normally be bustling, now largely deserted as people try and find a place to stay safe. Our international editor Jeremy Bowen had this analysis following that idf statement. First of all, i think there is deep satisfaction on the israeli side that they have done this. They are aware of the importance of nasrallah, notjust to the hezbollah organisation, but to the iranian network, the so called Axis Of Resistance in the Middle East. After the iranian leader, he was probably the most prominent persons associated with that. But also a warning for israelis to be careful, no big gatherings. That is a pretty unusual statement for them to come out with, saying that this isnt over yet. So clearly expecting some kind of retaliation. Clearly, israels Air Force is on full alert, and they have been mobilising reservists, because there has been predictions from senior generals of a Ground Invasion of south lebanon. But i think hezbollah are clearly under so much pressure, and the iranians as well, not wanting a wider war in the Middle East. Who knows what they will do. They might decide not to do a great deal for the time being, waiting to see what israel does. Perhaps trying to protect the Weapons Supplies that they still have. Or they might decide that the blows that they are receiving from israel will, if left unanswered, Add Up for them to a strategic defeat. So lots of difficult questions for them. I think theres almost a year of a traditional Border Warfare that preceded it was quite predictable, it was following a pattern. There arent any patterns now. I think israel senses opportunities. I think The Americans and western allies who tried to get a ceasefire even up to yesterday, will be actually sensing dangers that the complications that will come from this, the potential dangers are something that they didnt want. However, i can absolutely guarantee to you that israelis are delighted by what they have done, and they are really proud of this feat of arms that they are at the moment imposing upon lebanon, against the advice of their allies, against the advice of The Americans, who actually provided the aircraft and the bombs, but who have are pretty much been spectators while this is going on. The americans have said they were not forewarned about the attack. They were supposed to have an arrangement between them called the no surprises deal, were they dont surprise Each Other. Well, israel surprised a lot of people yesterday. Oui Our International Editor. Earlier my colleague, anna foster, spoke to the former israeli prime minister ehud olmert. He gave his assessment of Israels Operation against hezbollah so far. I dont think we need to go with a Ground Operation in lebanon. Hezbollah has suffered a major blow, Notjust Yesterday but all throughout the last two weeks and if they will continue fighting, they leave us with no option but to continue bombing and destroying their bases and ground positions, their rockets and launchers and many people will be suffering for weeks, regrettably. This is not our purpose or desire. They certainly have a good reason to want to stop. And we dont have any interest in a Ground Operation inside lebanon because what we want to do is provide security for our residents so they will come back home. Which i think it is something that The Americans and french are now trying to accomplish. They are trying to negotiate between us and the lebanese government. I hope they are successful and i hope that hezbollah will not be seduced by their emotions to try and retaliate because any further Military Confrontation will be. If i may, sorry to interrupt. It is important when we talk about that ceasefire, Mr Netanyahu who is not warmly welcomed the suggestion of a ceasefire. He addressed the Un General Assembly yesterday, he talked about peace and said that israel wants Peace And Peace is something that you pursued after the 2006 war. He says israel wants peace and then 90 minutes later launched this huge strike in the suburbs of Southern Beirut on residential buildings, civilian buildings. They would have been children killed there. That is not the pursuit of peace, he is saying one thing and doing another. You insist on ignoring the effects on the ground. When netanyahu was speaking they were shooting 150 rockets across the state of israel in continuation of what they were doing for a year long operation now against us. The question is not whether we should argue about the precise effects that took place yesterday, and i hope that netanyahu is on his way back and may have cooled down a little bit. And those of us who need to do the only thing which is reasonable and responsible for the lives of people and to avoid unnecessary victims. They have to stop the shooting, they have to agree to a compromise that will bring security to the North Part of israel and allow us to bring back the people living there. And they will abide by the resolution. That is correct that hezbollah have to agree to the ceasefire, but Mr Netanyahu has to agree to the ceasefire, there is no indication that he is going to do that. In the pursuit of this, you will have seen yourself, the images of that Damage And Destruction yesterday, is it reasonable to target civilians like that, even if you are trying to get The Leader of hezbollah . Do you consider civilian deaths acceptable Collateral Damage . Civilians were not targeted, im sorry. Im not a supporter of the israeli government. There were civilian deaths. Please, be patient. We were attacking the bases of hezbollah, all that section of beirut was a base of hezbollah, this is where they were shooting rockets and attacking every part of the state of israel. You go to the North Part of the state of israel you will see townships that are completely destroyed because of attacks coming from that area. There was no other way of stopping it but by attacking that which is the base from where they were out making these attacks against israeli civilians for such a long time. I absolutely, i regret every single citizen who is not involved who became a victim of this unavoidable and inevitable Counter Offensive that israel had to take in order to stop the fighting of hamas. But the question is are we going to fight about what happens tomorrow or are we going to make an effort to prevent it . What i say is this, stop fighting, Stop Shooting Rockets against israel. Lets bring you some breaking news from the Israeli Military saying that they have conducted a strike in beirut, the neighbourhood in the south of the capital that was under attack Last Night. They say they have conducted a precise strike on what is a hezbollah stronghold. This is a predominantly sheer muslim suburbin predominantly sheer muslim suburb in the south of beirut in lebanon. We have been hearing from our colleagues on the ground that they have seen black smoke rising in the rubble of those strikes from Last Night, very few people are out on the streets in what would normally be a very busy neighbourhood. 0ur Colleague saying in the last few hours they have spotted two members of hezbollah with visible weapons guarding one of those locations. But it would appear from what the military are saying is that they have conducted another strike in this part of beirut. Plumes of smoke in beirut and an attack that could set the entire Middle East ablaze. 0fficials officials say nearly 800 people have been killed in attacks since last monday. Thousands more people have fled their homes with many families staying in Marta Square in Central Beirut and alongside the seaside promenade. Plumes of smoke in beirut and an attack that could set the entire Middle East ablaze. Last nights israeli Air Strikes, killing one of Israels Rate enemies, the powerful Hezbollah LeaderHassan Nasrallah, seen here for the last time in a speech last week. Nasrallah came to power more than 30 years ago and transformed hezbollah into a major military and political force with the help of its main supporter, iran. In an assassination that could have unpredictable consequences. Translation of our many i strategies for lebanon we have started to implement them and this strike has been in preparation a long time and was carried out at the right time in a sharp way. And now we are starting to prepare the next moves. I underscore once again we are at high readiness on all fronts, all forces are organised together. There will be good coordination, very good preparation. Israel is indicating its fight against hezbollah will continue and is likely to include a Ground Incursion into Southern Lebanon. Overnight in beirut, more israeli Air Strikes and more residents are urged to evacuate. This is martyrs square in Central Beirut and hundreds of people spent the night here after fleeing. Also a , in a mosque on this Side And also tends set up. A lot of people saying they do not know where they will go if israeli Air Strikes continue. Translation certainly, in| The End, war is not beneficial for anyone. Look at these people sleeping in the streets. Ijust want a roof over my head for me and my son, his kids and his wife. They have been searching all morning but found nothing. There were fresh rockets from hezbollah into Northern Israel this morning. The group has been weakened but is still powerful. It has not yet deployed its most sophisticated missiles, a calculation that could change. Hassan nasrallah may have been killed, and this is the potential to spark a regional war. Ive been speaking to Sami Nader Director of the political Science Institute at Saintjoseph University of beirut. He gave his reaction to the killing of Hassan Nasrallah. This is definitely a major important event that happened a century in the Middle East, given its impact on the whole region, on the whole balance of power. Because what is at stake here, is the Uranium Project in the region. Hassan nasrallah was not a simple leader, he was a key player in this bridge that iran has spent over a Decade Building across the Middle East to link tehran to the mediterranean. This Project Today took a major blow and definitely will reverberate across the whole region, not to mention the impact on lebanese domestic politics because Hassan Nasrallah was the man who was calling the shots, he was the man deciding the War And Peace and the country is in and peace and the country is in a middle of a deep economic crisis. A deep political divide, a society that is very fractured and there are concerns, even fears that this incident, this tragic incident will have repercussions on lebanese society. And this definitely as well, has an impact inside syria because Hassan Nasrallah played a major role to support The Leader of syria, his troops are still operating inside syria. This is what is at stake, the whole architecture of the Middle East today. Not to mention that the impact of this killing on the war that is continuing. So, while hezbollah has the capability to continue the war and this Escalation Process . Has it the ability to go for a full blown war . We said previously that he doesnt want a full blown war but is prepared for it. The question is, is hezbollah prepared for a full blown war . A lot of questions, a lot of Anxiety And Fear here in beirut and people are really, they are fearing what is coming next, how iran will react. This is a key question, the Killing Yesterday crossed all the great lines, and if iran is to get into the picture, it is now. Up to now, iran calculated to keep their distance from the conflict, not to fall in what they call the israeli trap. Does this still holds today . It is an important thing to observe for the coming days and actually, what is israels next move because they are regaining the momentum, will it continue . Are the objectives those that they stated, the return of the hostages and the return of the residents of the north or are there hidden objectives that we dont know of . A lot of questions and anxiety, we are in a deep anxiety here in beirut. From the Saintjoseph University of beirut. Lets so, lets remind ourselves who just exactly who Hassan Nasrallah . He was The Leader of lebanons militant Shia Islamist Hezbollah movement, with close links to iran. He was one of the best known and most influential figures in the Middle East. Born in 1960, Hassan Nasrallah grew up in beirut� s eastern bourj hammoud neighbourhood. He became leader of hezbollah in 1992 at the age of 32, after his predecessor Abbas Al Musawi was assassinated in an israeli helicopter strike. He played a Key Role in turning hezbollah into a powerful political and military force. Under his leadership he helped hezbollah Train Hundreds of fighters from the palestinian Militant Group hamas. And he also obtained missiles and rockets from iran for use against israel. In his most recent speech, nasrallah blamed israel for Detonating Thousands Of Pagers and Radio Handsets used by hezbollah members, which killed 39 people and wounded thousands more, and said it had crossed all red lines. He also acknowledged the group had suffered an unprecedented blow. A week after that speech, israel say hes dead. We can show you pictures by out colleagues from bbc arabic� S Team in beirut recorded in ain al mraiseh, a neighborhood in beirut. Here you can see the reactions of some of the displaced residents from the southern suburbs of the city, hezbollah� s main stronghold, upon hearing the news of the Groups Confirmation of the death of its Secretary GeneralHassan Nasrallah in an israeli airstrike that targeted the suburbs. Deep distress, people saying in some cases they wish that they had been killed and Hassan Nasrallah had survived. Some of them taking nasrallah had survived. Some of them taking whatever nasrallah had survived. Some of| them taking whatever belongings they can carry to try and find shelter. Ive been speaking ive been speaking to Yezid Sayigh to Yezid Sayigh a Senior Fellow at the carnegie a Senior Fellow at the carnegie middle East Center in beirut. Middle East Center in beirut. He is also an expert he is also an expert in palestinian history. In palestinian history. He gave us an insight he gave us an insight into the political impact into the political impact of Nasrallahs Death. Of Nasrallahs Death. Well, clearly, well, clearly, Nasrallahs Death will Nasrallahs Death will have a massive impact. Have a massive impact. But had he been killed outside but had he been killed outside the context of the ongoing war, the context of the ongoing war, things would have been things would have been different and hezbollah all of its Military Command different and hezbollah would have mourned him, would have mourned him, but then gone through but then gone through a Selection Process a Selection Process for his successor. For his successor. But his death follows something but his death follows something like a ten Day Period in which, like a ten Day Period in which, as your report mentioned, as your report mentioned, hezbollah first suffered hezbollah first suffered hundreds, possibly thousands hundreds, possibly thousands of injuries among its rank of injuries among its Rank And File from the Pager Attack and file from the Pager Attack and the Walkie Talkie attack, and the Walkie Talkie attack, and has had pretty much and has had pretty much all of its Military Command taken out by various israeli assassination raids. And so his death comes at well, the tail end, i dont want to say The End, for sure, i think israel will continue with many more attacks, obviously planned. But Nasrallahs Attack comes at a time when, clearly, hezbollah� s ability to communicate internally has beenjeopardised by the hard choice between exploding pagers or going on to conventional means such as Cell Phones which are more easily tracked by the israelis. How do they deal with this kind of situation . The obvious Security Loopholes they have been exposed to . How do they root out moles within their ranks . How do they replenish their stocks . The list is endless. We are looking at an organisation that has been attacked both at the lower level. Hundreds or thousands of its fighters killed or injured, but also mid level and top level command. In that sense, Nasrallahs Death marked definitively, in my view, the moment in which hezbollah is experiencing what to me is the equivalent of the Arab Israeli War of 1967, when the israelis launched a Surprise Attack on three arab armies and demolished their Air Forces on the ground and overran massive amounts of territory within six days. Its that combination of an operational and Intelligence Success on the israeli part that won the day in 1967. We are looking at something along those lines now with hezbollah. After 1967, the egyptian president rebuilt his armed forces, waged what he called a War Of Attrition with israel along the suez canal, and eventually this allowed egypt to regain territory in 1973, in another war. So i would say hezbollah, not trying to inflate its ability to rebuild and replenish, but i think, however hard it has been hit, this is simply not The End of the fight for it. Much diminished, but clearly it will go on, partly i think because it cant afford at this point not to continue the fight, because its domestic standing within lebanese politics will start to be very seriously undermined if it is seen to be unable to defend itself or to pick itself out and go back and fight again. Hezbollah still has the capacity to Fire Rockets into israel as well. Amongst the other casualties of the strikes Last Night, iran has confirmed one of its Quds Force commanders was killed. How far do you believe iran will be compelled to go, in terms of retaliation and a response . This clearly is a massive provocation that goes beyond all previous ones such as the assassination of Hamas LeaderIsmail Haniyeh in the iranian Capital Tehran two or three months ago. Nonetheless, i think irans strategic position and vulnerabilities, and how to potentially learn the lessons of this conflict. I think hezbollah made the mistake in the past decade or so of preparing to fight the 2006 war all over again against israel in south lebanon. I dont think they were well prepared for what had happened. The next time around, if hezbollah do rebuild, they will rebuild integrating different kinds of tactics and technologies into how they operate. They might not even operate as a very large social group which can bring 100,000 people into a rally with social welfare and so on. They might change in a number of ways we are yet to see. I just dont think they are ready to give up the fight. But it would be very, very hard for them to pick themselves up from this. The feeling that iran would not defend them, we understand this is because iran sees them as serving its strategic deterrence, not the other way around. But i think that for a lot of hezbollah� s communities, society within the shia community, within its own ranks, that will shake them to the core. Lets speak to hisham jaber, a former major general in the lebanese army. Thank you very much forjoining us on Bbc News. To what extent do you believe hezbollah are weakened now . Do you believe hezbollah are weakened now . 0k. The strike which has weakened now . 0k. The strike which has Boller weakened now . 0k. The strike which has Boller received, weakened now . 0k. The strike which has Boller received, it which has Boller received, it was very, very strong, very hard. Which has bull are received. Nobody can deny this. Now hezbollah has to put itself together. Then to respond to the israeli aggression. Because it cannot stay silent before this aggression, which has been for ten days, strike, you know. Killing civilians, destroying a lot, everything in lebanon. Now hezbollah has a problem. How to put itself together. To replace, you know, naz The Leader. And i think they will choose among his assistant. Hassan nasrallah, The Leader. They will vote for one who will be the new General Secretary of hezbollah. Thats first. Second, hezbollah did not lose its Military Potential. They still have 70 of its Military Potential. Hezbollah still has Air Strike and defence systems. They did not lose it. Hezbollah still has missiles, land and sea. Yoav gallant was talking about it. They said they could destroy the system, the oil. The commanders did not use them yet. Hezbollah still have 10,000 precise ballistic missiles, not used, but few only in the last few days. That is the Military Potential of hezbollah. In my opinion, they didnt lose more than 5 of its personnel within all of the year and within the last ten days. That is the situation of hezbollah now. Days. That is the situation of hezbollah now. There is a very lona hezbollah now. There is a very long Delay Hezbollah now. There is a very long delay on hezbollah now. There is a very long delay on the hezbollah now. There is a very long delay on the Line Hezbollah now. There is a veryj long delay on the line between you speaking and you hearing me. H, you speaking and you hearing me,. ,. , you speaking and you hearing me what you speaking and you hearing me. What involvement me. Go ahead. What involvement will iran have me. Go ahead. What involvement will iran have in me. Go ahead. What involvement will iran have in choosing me. Go ahead. What involvement will iran have in choosing who will iran have in choosing who the places Hassan Nasrallah . Iran did not choose, not only iran did not choose, not only iran will choose, i think. The command in has bull are. Iran will choose, i think. The command in has bullare. In hezbollah. They will propose, they will vote for any name. They will negotiate with iran, because iran is their allies, you know . Iran will say, ok, no veto, green light, 0k. Its not iran who will choose The Leader, the new leader of hezbollah. But iran at the same time, they dont have the high expect of intervention to defend in the military Point Of View, hezbollah, now. Many lebanese ask why iran did not react. Its a nation, not an organisation. Iran has its proper interests, its proper policy. I dont think we have to count, they have to count, on iran to interfere in a military Point Of View on the scene in lebanon, to defend hezbollah. Scene in lebanon, to defend hezbollah scene in lebanon, to defend hezbollah. And scene in lebanon, to defend hezbollah. And lebanon hezbollah. With. And lebanon will. I hezbollah. With. And lebanon will i beg hezbollah. With. And lebanon will. I beg your hezbollah. With. And lebanon will. I beg your pardon, hezbollah. With. And lebanon will. I beg your pardon, this i will. I beg your pardon, this dela is will. I beg your pardon, this delay is very will. I beg your pardon, this delay is very difficult. Will. I beg your pardon, this delay is very difficult. This delay is very difficult. This means has need time to regroup this means hezbollah needs time to regroup. This gives the advantage to israel. How will Israel Use this time . Advantage to israel. How will Israel Use this time . Israel, i think, Threat Israel Use this time . Israel, i think, threat to Israel Use this time . Israel, i think, threat to make Israel Use this time . Israel, i think, threat to make a Israel Use this time . Israel, i think, threat to make a landl think, threat to make a land attack. I dont think they will go inside lebanon. Hezbollah, to be clear, now losing two pillars. We have to say clear. For ten days, they lost the deterrence. 0therwise, israel would not continue to strike lebanon, if hezbollah still had the deterrent. You have another guest . The deterrent. You have another cuest . ~. , �. , the deterrent. You have another iuest . ,. ,. , guest . We dont have another cuest. Guest . We dont have another guest we guest . We dont have another guest. We have guest . We dont have another guest. We have been guest . We dont have another guest. We have been very guest. We have been very grateful to talk to you, general. Thank you for talking to us and coping with the time delay. The news of the death of the Hezbollah Leader, Hassan Nasrallah, in an israeli airstrike, comes as Tens Of Thousands of people have fled their homes in lebanon, following an earlier series of israeli Air Strikes. Many have gone to beirut, where people living in some districts have also been advised by israel to move ahead of potential military action. 0ur Correspondent in beirut, carine torbey, sent this update. Thousands and thousands of people spent their Night Yesterday in the street, and many remain there without any shelter. They had to flee intense israeli bombardment in the southern suburb of beirut, leading to an exodus of residents. For many here, the confirmation of israels killing of Hezbollah LeaderHassan Nasrallah was a shock. Woman cries the government is saying that it is working really hard to find a shelter for every single one of them, now that its dealing with a massive Displacement Crisis all over the country. After people from the south, from bekaa, and now people from beirut, are leaving their houses and fleeing the israeli Air Strikes. The un is warning that humanitarian needs are reaching unprecedented levels, and the resources have been exhausted. Live pictures over Southern Beirut. All day, we have been seeing plumes of grey and black smoke up into the sky as israel has continued to carry out Air Strikes on some of those districts regarded as hezbollah strongholds. We have also been hearing they have carried out strikes in the Bekaa Valley, because they believe hezbollah have been Firing Rockets into israel. Israels military also saying they have intercepted missiles fired from yemen by the houthis. Air raid sirens soundedin the houthis. Air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and central israel, but the Israeli Military said they had managed to bring down those missiles. I spoke to nafiseh kohnavard, our Middle East correspondent. Shes in a part of beirut where many displaced people spent their night in a small park. This many people, you just see a few of them, but along the way that we were coming to downtown beirut, from the morning, we see tens of familiesjust sleeping in the street. They spend the night here. They say that they dont have a home. Many of them told us they dont have a house to go back to, because they are destroyed. The roads in tahir is closed, so they think any soon they cannot go back to their house. At the same time, there was three other Air Strikes today, targeting tahir right after the confirmation about the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, The Leader of hezbollah, came. But let me explain the mood here. We have very strange mood. Just minutes ago, suddenly we heard celebration. And some of the hezbollah supporters that only a few minutes ago, they were crying, suddenly they started to dance and celebrate. We ask them, what happened . Apparently somehow they thought their leader is still alive, while hezbollah Media Office in a statement, they confirmed that he is killed in these Air Strikes. But this is the mood. This is the mood, suddenly they got so jolly, they started to celebrate, they started to dance, they started to shout. Saying, he is alive, he is alive. 0n the other hand, we see angry people, angry because they are displaced, angry because they lost their leaders. Many of these people spend the night here, they came from tahir, of course, and many of them are hezbollah supporters. I suppose understandable confusion and some will hope that the news was wrong. What are the authoritys doing to try to get people to safety, what are the authorities doing to try to get people to safety, as these Air Strikes continue notjust where you have been describing but also in the Bekaa Valley . To be honest, this morning, we havent seen any action by the government to take these people to safety. I asked them, have you tried the schools . They said, yes, they have, but the schools are already fully packed with people that fled from the south. They have been in the past few days, we have been reporting from one of the schools that was very close to the area hit yesterday. That school had taken more than 1,000 people fled from the south. They told us they couldnt find any accommodation. They dont know if there is any accommodation. Now we hear that some churches have started to accommodate these people. There are efforts to open other schools. But soon, schools also itself will start in lebanon, so there is a question how the government is going to manage all these displaced people, not only from the south and Southern Lebanon and Bekaa Valley, but also now, hundreds of people from tahir itself, the southern suburb of beirut. We were just hearing via Iranian State Media that Ayatollah Khamenei has announced five days of mourning in iran over the death of Hassan Nasrallah. Earlier we heard the iranian president had said the united states must be complicit in the strikes that took place Last Night that led took place Last Night that led to his death. For their part, the united states have said they werent aware of what israel had in mind. In Northern Israel, gatherings have been limited to ten people in the open and 150 indoors, and work and educational activity only allowed with Shelter Facilities at hand. Earlier today, israels defence minister, yoav gallant, issued a short statement about the killing of Hassan Nasrallah. He says it is one of the most significant targeted operations in the history of the state of israel. Lets take a listen. The state of israel has eliminated Hassan Nasrallah, The Leader of hezbollah. He was the murderer of thousands of israelis and foreign citizens. He was an immediate threat to the life of thousands of israelis and other citizens. To our enemies, i say, we are strong and determined. To our partners, i would say, ourwar is yourwar. And to the people of lebanon, i say, our war is not with you, its time to change. Ive been speaking to our Security Correspondent frank gardner, who explained how significant this was. Hezbollah will have a succession plan. Three obvious contenders are being talked about, and they too potentially have a limited Life Span given israel is determined to take apart this organisation and particularly its entire Command And Control structure. Its very different, this is far more significant than the Taking Down of some Isis Or Alqaeda leader that most of us have never heard of. This man has been a central part of Middle Eastern politics, Love Him or loathe him, for the last 32 years. He has been the torchbearer for irans Islamic Revolution and its entire expansion of military aims across the Middle East. They are far more than just a local Proxy Militia for iran in south lebanon. They have been training the houthis, they have gone to the defence of president Bashar Al Assad in syria and propped up his regime. Many of their fighters have been fighting there in the last few years and are Battle Hardened and combat experienced. But right now they are leaderless, rudderless and wounded, they are baying for revenge. The big question is what will iran do . Iran is their principal backer. When those Pager Explosions went off, one went off in the possession of the iranian ambassador. Some people might ask why the iranian ambassador has a pager belonging to a proscribed terrorist group. That shows how closely iran and hezbollah operate together. You said how powerful and well resourced hezbollah are, to what extent have they been weakened in the last few weeks . The Pager And Walkie talkie explosions went for their communications. The reason why they had these 20th century, rather outmoded forms of communication was because Hassan Nasrallah himself had given an order not to trust mobile phones, because they are very easily hacked and tracked by Israeli Military intelligence. Its one of their specialities, kind of Military Cyber Hacking of communications. That of course meant they would have to find other ways of communicating. It hasnt completely stopped them communicating but its made it that much harder and has sown a lot of mistrust and suspicion. But what they have also done, the israelis, is to carry out a number of targeted assassinations. They have taken out about 15 members of the Hezbollah Leadership. The head of their so called Air Force. Hezbollah doesnt have planes or fighterjets but it has drones and missiles, and it took out the head of the drone programme. Theyve taken out someone who i think i am right in saying was the head of their southern command, ie south lebanon, where they are most active alongside the Bekaa Valley in the north east. The head of that whole organisation has been removed. They have been doing targeted Air Strikes on ammunition dumps, Weapons Supplies, a lot of which because they are in residential areas have killed lebanese civilians, who are nothing to do with hezbollah. Israel says, we warned them to get away, but the fact is the civilian Death Toll is unacceptably high. But israel is on a roll, they think they have hezbollah on the ropes, on the back foot, they are determined to press home their advantage and remove once and for all this threat to their northern border, which has forced roughly 63,000 israeli residents to move south. This is a very broad and flawed analogy, but it would be the equivalent in britain of Everybody North of leeds living within danger of Rocket Attacks from north of the scottish border. Israel is a small country, they have all had to move south and they are living in hotels, On FriendsLiving Room sofas and floors and so on. A greater number have had to move north from the lebanese side of the border. A greater number have been killed there, so lebanon is caught in the middle here. Its really tough for lebanese civilians, but israel doesnt seem to be interested in listening to calls for a ceasefire right now. Security correspondent frank gardner, speaking to us earlier. We said a moment ago that yvonnes Ayatollah Khamenei has announced five days of mourning following the death of Hassan Nasrallah in the israeli strikes Last Night. Irans. He has also said Nasrallahs Blood will not go unavenged. It demonstrates the closeness of Irans Government too has bull are. They have been funding and resorting hezbollah over the last few years. Irans government to hezbollah. Coverage of this story is going to continue on Bbc News throughout the coming hours. Now its time for a look at todays sport. Seven Premier League matches on saturday, as defending champions Manchester City were held to a second consecutive draw with their match against newcastle ending 1 1 at st jamess park. Having dropped their first points of the season at home to arsenal in a 2 2 draw, city once again took the lead with a neat finish from josko gvardiol. Before Anthony Gordon earned his newcastle Side A point from the Penalty Spot having drawn a foul from citys ederson. Newcastle still unbeaten at home since january, Manchester CityManager Pep Guardiola happy with his sides performance. We scored a fantastic goal, in that moment chances especially. They are a team that create chances, but of course we had it. After they scored, ten minutes we suffered. With the crowd and everything. We know how happy they will celebrate the point, all of them, the crowd. But the last minutes, we were there again. I recognise my team, the Body Language and the way we behaved and the way we played. We are happy, especially after last week. That was a good display, us playing our way, brave. Two teams going right at Each Other for 70 minutes. The last 20, they were stronger than us. We had to defend really well to maintain the point. Last seasons Runners Up arsenal are at home to leicester looking to keep pace with league leaders city. But theyre not having it all their own way 2 2 the latest score there. Jamesjustin with both goals for leicester. Brentford are drawing 1 1 with west ham. Chelsea host Brighton Chelsea are leading 4 2. Cole palmer scoring all four of them. Everton and crystal Palace FaceEach Other both searching for their first league wins of the Season Everton have a 2 1 lead at goodison. Fulham are Beating Forest 1 0. In the Evening Kick off wolves host second placed liverpool. The world anti Doping Agency is appealing before the Court Of Arbitration For Sport against the Tribunal Verdict that the World Number one jannik sinner� s low level of a banned Anabolic Steroid were through no fault or negligence. The verdict ensured the us open winner, in action in beijing earlier today, escaped a ban. Last month, sinner received an anti Doping Sanction and was stripped of his money and ranking points from the indian Wells Tournament in march, Due To Testing Positive for clostebol. He avoided a ban after successfully arguing to the Sports Integrity Agency that he was inadvertently contaminated with the substance by his physiotherapist. The final match in the Rugby Championship is under way in South Africa, with the springboks in action against argentina. Its half time in the decider. Pre kick off both teams able to win the competition. However a first Half Bonus Point performance from the boka, with two tries for aphele fassi, means that regardless of the result it will be South Africa lifting the Rugby Championship, 27 7 at half time. Meanwhile in the early game, Caleb Clarke scored two tries as New Zealand beat the wallabies 33 13 to end their championship with a third victory. It was New Zealands first Test Victory in the Nations Capital in six attempts going back to 2018. And thats all the sport for now. Thank you, just a recap on some of the lines breaking from the Middle East in the last hour. The idf has said it has again struck the suburb in beirut, tahir, one of the strongholds of the hezbollah movement. You can still make out the smoke rising from various places. Russia has strongly condemned israels killing of the Hezbollah LeaderHassan Nasrallah, its Foreign Ministry Calling upon israel to stop all hostilities against hezbollah in lebanon. This forceful action is fraught with even greater dramatic consequences for lebanon and the entire Middle East, the russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. And also reaction from iran, where the supreme Leader Ayatollah come in a has declared five days of mourning for Hassan Nasrallah. Ayatollah khamenei. He said his blood will not go unavenged. We will hear from Our International Editor at will hearfrom Our International Editor atJeremy Bowen from jerusalem, and also be live in washington, dc, as we get reaction by our correspondent from the pentagon. Stay with us in the hours ahead on Bbc News. Much more Analysis And Coverage of the situation in lebanon. Hello there. Were seeing a very much needed drier, sunnier spell of weather across the country this weekend. Although its not going to be the same as we move through sunday. Today, by far the best of the drier and brighter weather. Sunday it starts dry, but then well see wet and windy weather pushing into southern and western areas later on, as a new area of low pressure moves in. So this is the Rainfall Accumulations as we move through sunday into tuesday. Looks like england and wales again bearing the brunt of The Rainfall, which is Bad News here. Ground is saturated and thats going to exacerbate already existing flooding issues. This area of High Pressure, though, is whats brought us the fine and largely dry weather through today. And its going to continue. Probably the best of the sunshine later in the day will be towards the midlands, southern and eastern england. Elsewhere, a bit more cloud further North And West with a few showers. Most of The Rain For Northern Scotland and it is a chilly day after that cold start 11 to 1a or 15 degrees. As we head through tonight, it stays dry for most. Most of the showers fizzle out and well see clear spells, and when we have the clearskies, central, northern and eastern parts with light winds, its going to turn quite chilly once again, with a bit of Mist And Fog developing, but temperatures slowly recovering out west. Thats because weve got this new area of low pressure working its way in to bring increasing breeze from the south. 0urarea of High Pressure, short lived and starts to ebb away into the near continent. It does mean sunday starts off fine. There will be some early sunshine around, but it will fade. Probably the best of the sunshine through the day for the northern half of scotland, where it will be warmest. Turning cloudier, windier and wetter the further South And West that you are, as this area of low pressure moves in. Weve got a couple of yellow warnings in force for rain and for wind here. Temperature wise, mid teens again in the south, low to mid teens further north. Sunday night we see the wind and The Rain increasing across england and wales, certainly towards the south and the west. Some of that rain could be heavy and, like i mentioned, could exacerbate flooding issues. As that area of low pressure crosses the country into monday, it will become very slow moving. There is a bit of a Question Mark to the North And South extent of The Rain. At the moment it looks like its east anglia, the north midlands, Northern England up into southern scotland, which could see some of the heaviest rainfall. Again, that could cause issues across england and wales. Sunshine and showers to the south, could be quite mild, 17 or 18 degrees here. The rain eventually clears away gradually on tuesday, and then wednesday onwards, High Pressure builds in so it should turn fine and settled. Live from london, this is Bbc News. Im martine croxall. Israels military has carried out another Air Strike on the lebanese Capital Beirut just hours after hezbollah confirmed that its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, was among those killed, following a massive israeli attack yesterday. Nasrallahs death is a major blow for the Militant Group, which he led for more than 30 years. Israels military said hed been targeted in a Precision Strike on hezbollahs Command Centre, describing him as one of the countrys biggest enemies throughout h isto ry. Hezbollah has vowed it will continue to confront its enemies, Support Gaza and palestine and defend the people of lebanon. Irans Supreme Leader has declared five days of mourning. In the past few hours Air Raid sirens have sounded in central israel including in Tel Aviv. The idf says it intercepted a missile fired from yemen. Let shay these pictures as night descends on beirut. The idf say they have continued to carry out Air Strikes in Southern Beirut during the day, notably on neighbourhoods which are hezbollah strongholds. They say it is a Precision Strike they carried out Last Night, but the lebanese authorities say that 11 people are known to have died and 108 people were injured. We are getting word from