Behind irans evil axis. He and his men were the architects of the plan to destroy israel. He was not only operated by iran, many times he operated iran. This is why earlier this week i arrived at the conclusion that the hard blow that israel had landed hezbollah over the last few days would not be enough. Nasrallah must be killed in Orderfor Israel to nasrallah must be killed in order for israel to achieve the goals we have defined, enabling the reSidents of Northern Israel to return safely to their homes and affecting the long Term Change in the balance of powers in this region, because as long as nasrallah was alive, he would have quickly rehabilitated hezbollah� s capabilities. This is why i have given the Order And Nasrallah is no longer with us. His death brings us closer to enabling our people to go back to their homes in the north and brings us closer to returning our hostages in the south. Hezbollah will no longer be able to come to their rescue, the chances of rescuing hostages grow bigger. I would like to thank the Air Force, the mossad, the shin bet, the idea for the huge achievement. Citizens of n israel, we have incredible achievements, but we have a lot of work to do. In the next few days, we will be facing serious challenges, and we will do that together. Nasrallah said that we are a spider web, but instead of that, he found out that we are made of steel, a united and strong nation that is determined to guarantee its survival and its future, and not only nasrallah found this out, the entire Middle East found this out. All people who oppose the axis of evil, all those who are suffering under the Violence And Tyranny of iran and its proxies in lebanon, iran, syria and other places, all of these people are feeling hope. I am saying to the people in these countries, israel is standing with you, and to the regime of the ayatollahs, i say, anybody who strikes against us, we will strike you. There is no place in iran or in the Middle East that israels long arm is unable to reach, and you know now how true this is. Citizens of israel, these are great times. We are at what looks like a historic turning point. A year ago, on October The 7th, our enemies attacked us and thought that israel was going to be destroyed, and one year later, one strike after another, one achievement after another, one achievement after another, they realise how futile their hopes were. Israel is in an upswing. We are victorious. We are determined to go on striking our enemies. We will bring back our reSidents to their homes in the north and return all of our hostages home. We are not forgetting them for a single second. My brothers and sisters, citizens of israel, today i am saying to you again and even louder, together we will fight, and with gods help, together we will win. Israels prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel has launched more airstrikes on Hezbollah Strongholds in southern beirut. This is the scene live in beirut. It is just after it isjust after iipm it is just after pm local time. One of the attacks is reported to have targeted a warehouse near beirut airport. No details of casualties have yet been released. The head of Lebanons Government Crisis cell, nasser yassin, has said hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced since friday. Our senior international Correspondent Orla Guerin has been to the scene of Israels Airstrikes and sent this report. This is what beirut endured overnight massive israeli strikes that could ignite the whole region. By day, confirmation from hezbollah that its long time leader, sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, had been killed. For his followers, its a devastating loss. Israel gave this account of killing its old enemy. Translation Hassan Nasrallah, 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� s central headquarters commanding more imminent attacks against the people of israel. Its people here who are fleeing today, some heading to the north or the east, clinging to the hope that theyll find safety, even as Ambulances Rush in for new wounded. We travelled through dahieh, the Hezbollah Stronghold now looking anything but. Its been bombed time after time. This is just one of the locations that has been hit. Theres smoke still rising here, theres ash in the air, and you can smell the explosives, and i can hear a drone now overhead. The strike here happened overnight, and since then, there has been no let up. In beirut� s martyrs� square, many slept in the open, and remained there today, new homeless from the Middle Easts newest war. The governor of beirut fears for his city. What do you think is the israeli plan here . What are they trying to do . I dont know, but israel want to kill and to kill and to kill. You cannot predict what israel can do. But you fear the worst . May god protect this country. It seems a very sad moment for you. Its the saddest moment in my life. Thank you. And a moment of Grave Danger for more than hezbollah. No one can be sure what will come next. Orla guerin, bbc news, beirut. Hassan nasrallah had not been seen in public for years because of fears of being assassinated by israel. Responding to Hassan Nasrallahs death, irans supreme leader reaffirmed his support for hezbollah. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the fate of the Middle East would be determined by what he called the forces of resistance. Our Security Correspondent, Frank Gardner, has more on one of the best known and most influential figures in the Middle East. Said Hassan Nasrallah, a towering figure in the violent world of Middle East militias, a hero to many lebanese shia, to israel and other some western countries, a leading terrorist. His assassination by israel is hugely significant. It removes at a stroke a key figure in irans so called Axis Of Resistance against israel. Hassan nasrallah had been Secretary General of hezbollah for 32 years, overseeing its growth into the worlds most heavily armed non State Army and a political party. He was born in lebanon in 1960 in beirut� s eastern district. He took over the leadership in 1992 when his predecessor was assassinated by israel. 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. Hezbollah� s power has been seriously weakened by the recent assassinations, the sabotage of its communications, and Air Strikes on its Weapons 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 . And can hezbollah recover from all of these blows . 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 it can ill afford a war with israel. Frank gardner, bbc news. PreSident biden said Nasrallahs Death was a Measure Ofjustice for his victims but the us would continue working to de escalate the conflict. Lets cross to our correspondent Jenny Kumah in washington. What has Sident-biden'>PreSident Biden had to say . We have heard from the White House that Sident-biden'>PreSident Biden has convened a call with his Sident'>Vice PreSident and national Security Team to get updates, and they will continue to get updates in the coming hours. Speaking at his home, the preSident spoke to reporters and said that the killing of nasrallah, the amounted to a measure of justice for his victims. He also said he has ordered a bolstering of the forces in the Middle East to deter iran from escalation, and he has said that the us supports israels right to defend itself. How significant are those comments from Sident-biden'>PreSident Biden . This is a consistent message we have had from Sident-biden'>PreSident Biden and his administration since the conflict in gaza, that the us supports israel, whilst emphasising a need for a diplomatic solution, but although there is growing tension in the White House that israels defiance, there has been no criticism. Mr biden has stopped short of criticising israel. Yesterday, Mr Biden said that the us werent told before these strikes happen. There was no mention of that 21 Day Ceasefire Proposal that was put forward by the un earlier this week. There was no comment on the israeli Prime Minister, Mr Netanyahu, rejecting that proposal, and no mention of Mr Netanyahu ordering the Strike Yesterday just netanyahu ordering the Strike Yesterdayjust moments before he addressed the un in New York yesterday. Thank you very much, Jenny Kumah, reporting live from washington. Lets speak to harrison mann, a former major at the Defense Intelligence Agency, an organisation responsible for collecting Military Intelligence for the us department of defense. Major harrison resigned from his role at the Defense Intelligence Agency injune over its role in israel gaza war. In the israel gaza war. Thank you forjoining us. I suppose it is a simple question to start with, why . Well, we have seen over the past week the totally predictable combination of the biden administrations support for israel, and support me and my colleagues gave to israel, helping them understand and target adversaries in the Middle East, and i heard your previous stories talking about the impact on hezbollah and the undeniable impact that this killing is going to have on the group, but at the same time, all that is certain for the near term is that there is going to be a state of endless war in the Middle East, and that many of the determining effects that were holding back hezbollah from using all its capabilities against both israel and many american targets in the Middle East are not there any more, because they really have very little left to lose. So i am quite concerned notjust at left to lose. So i am quite concerned not just at the humanitarian impact of the escalation we are seeing, which was the main reason i resigned, but also the extent to which this might drag in the united states even further. Just tell us a little about the sort Of Concerns you raised, and how long that took you before you got to the stage where you thought there was no alternative but to resign your role . Absolutely. The Human Cost in gaza after October The 7th was immediately apparent, notjust immediately apparent, not just to immediately apparent, notjust to the media and the public but also to All Of Us inSide the Intelligence Community. We had a very good idea of the amount of death in gaza and also the destruction to medical and civilian infrastructure. At the same time, i was able to see that there was not going to be any serious discussion either in the Intel Community or the administration about attempting to actually pressure israel by using our extensive the form of military intel diplomatic support, and so even in october, internally, it was clearthat october, internally, it was clear that we were going to accept what we call the credible assurances of our israeli counterparts that our support would not be used to kill civilians or commit illegal acts, and taking that at Face Value was going to be good enough to keep supporting them. So i understood very early on that we were going to take their word for it and really not moderate our support in any way, and i didnt want to be part of that. When israel says that the full responsibility for civilian casualties lies squarely with hezbollah or with hamas for hiding weapons, hiding their leaders and buildings full of civilians, what would you have expected Israels Action to be after October The 7th . We have witnessed after October The 7th . We have witnessed since after October The 7th . We have witnessed since october after October The 7th . We have witnessed since october seven | witnessed since october seven and before that the israeli Military Conduct extremely targeted, low Collateral Damage strikes in both hamas and hezbollah leaders, when they want to, so that capability clearly exists, and i think they could have done that, if that had been a Policy Goal of netanyahu and his government, but when they essentially do indiscriminate carpet bombing, thatis indiscriminate carpet bombing, that is also a choice. We know and they know that is not the most effective way to kill high value targets, but that is the path they took in gaza and now looks increasingly like they are taking in lebanon. We have seen them kill specific hezbollah commanders with precision attacks, and we have also seen large bombs, large civilian areas being destroyed. Beirut is in the news right now, but for months, they have essentially been rendering in southern lebanon, along the border, uninhabitable, byjust border, uninhabitable, by just destroying border, uninhabitable, byjust destroying everything. But. Destroying everything. But, harrison mann, destroying everything. But, harrison mann, you destroying everything. But, harrison mann, you will. Destroying everything. But, harrison mann, you will be | harrison mann, you will be aware of the strength of what you are saying, the accusation that israel could have done this without the level of civilian casualties we have seen, both in gaza and more recently over the last few days in lebanon. That is an extremely strong thing to say about the israeli governments actions. I dont think it is strong. The Israeli Minister of defence shortly after October The 7th that we are going to cut off food, water and electricity, and they did that. Public statements like that and actions like actually restricting the entry of food and medicine, and still, if you talk doctors who Walk In who work in gaza, they cant get so passed border controls, they dont have an explanation really other than to do Mass Punishment against civilians, and i think in the case of gaza, depopulated at least a portion of it. What has been the response to your actions over the last few months, the fact that you resign, the concerns you have raised, and i wonder, obviously, looking ahead, nobody knows exactly what is to happen, but the fact that hezbollah still seems to have a large amount of weapons, the prospects of larger missiles, larger rockets coming Israels Way and people actually being safer . Yes, i think that is absolutely correct. I want to emphasise my concerns are not unique and i shared both officially and unofficially by many people in the us government, but the concerns over the civilian casualties and the unchecked escalation that we are feeling, basically, by promising support to israel no matter what they do. And, yes, despite, ithink, a significant strike on multiple echelons of hezbollah� s leadership, they still have 40,000 plus fighters, hundreds of miles of subterranean tunnels and facilities that are storing a lot of the munitions they have, and a lot of capabilities that they have held back from using because they were afraid of the consequences that israel is wreaking on them anyway, so i think what you are getting at is totally correct, which is that we should expect them to stop fighting with their hands behind their back, to a certain extent, and doing much larger barrages, using more advanced Precision Weaponry that they have maybe avoided showing off so far, and trying to overwhelm israeli air defences, and, yes, it is going to make the people of israel much less safe. I wonder what you see the significance of the us as apparently being blindSided in not knowing about this latest action is . We had from The Pentagon Last Night, israel had not told them they were going to target Hassan Nasrallah in this way. We heard. Yes, i think thats consistent with almost what we have seen for the past year, which is that they make a lot of big moves without consulting us, but i dont think we should take that to mean that the trajectory of the conflict, or that the increasingly escalate removes that israel takes are a surprise to our policymakers, because that has been understood since october, and you earlier mentioned the preSident s statement. Every time they do something like this, we either commend them or promise them more support or send troops and carriers to the region to help defend them against the consequences, to encourage them to do more escalator reactions, so maybe the strike itself was a surprise, but the willingness to take this kind of step was understood. I to take this kind of step was understood. To take this kind of step was understood. ,. ,. ,. , understood. I introduced you as a military official. Understood. I introduced you as a military official. Youre a military official. Youre actually the first us military Official And Person from the Intelligence Community to resign over the israel gaza war. I wonder what the impact of that has been. I think it has helped me communicate to some people who were less tuned into this issue that especially in thejewish community, if you have a good understanding of the suffering of the jews in understanding of the suffering of thejews in europe, you should absolutely care about what is happening right now, because we are seeing multiple marginalised peoples who are really being the victims of industrialised slaughter, certainly in gaza. I hope we dont get to that point in lebanon. Major harrison mann, joining us from puerto rico, us Army Veteran and formally from the us diff allergens agency, thank for talking to us. Thank you. Defence agency. Weve also had some reaction from the Uk Government to Hassan Nasrallahs killing. The foreign secretary, david lammy, said he had spoken with lebanons Prime Minister najib mikati. In a statement, Mr Lammy said both men had agreed on the need for an immediate ceasefire to bring an end to the bloodshed. His statement also said a diplomatic solution is the only way to restore Security And Stability for the lebanese and israeli people. A little earlier, i spoke to Israel Defense Forces Spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner about the operation to target nasrallah. Operation new order, as it has been called, was designed and implemented based on real time intelligence gathered over several years and based on the Government Instruction to bring back the 60,000 israelis who were evacuated from their houses for almost a year, precisely because of the actions, instructions and attacks that Hassan Nasrallah had given against israel. I want to come back to that in just a moment. Can you tell us more about what is happening right now . We know israel is continuing to carry out strikes on lebanon at the moment. There are three core issues that we are conducting currently. We are conducting Precision Strikes against perpetrators of terrorism. Earlier today, we took out one of hezbollah� s senior intelligence officials. The second is indeed taking out the strategic assets that hezbollah has. They still have over 100,000, probably more, rockets, missiles, drones some of those with precision guided missile capabilities. Last night, we took out the three different locations of coast to Sea Precision guided missiles, and this is one element that is important, because those tools of Death And Terrorism still remain in the hands. The third is a quick interception when terrorists are preparing to attack against us. Those are the types of things that youve been seeing. On the matter of all the weaponry that you say hezbollah still has pointing at israel, hezbollah is still firing rockets into israel. What youve done so far hasnt eliminated the threat that you wanted to eliminate. Well, nasrallah, for the last 20 years, has been building a vast armoury of rockets, missiles and drones, more than most european countries, something like 200,000 rockets and missiles and drones. That just goes to show that it wont be over any time soon without either a surrender on their behalf or a diplomatic agreement. From our perspective, the military has instructions to restore Safety And Security to the north of israel. That can be done through taking out the leaders that are instructing these attacks against israel. As you said and reported, the leadership of hezbollah has in the last week been effectively decapitated. I would say that organisation needs to take very seriously needs to think very seriously if they want to pursue more attacks against israel. The idf is charged with responding and with the responsibility of maintaining security, securing the safety of the people of israel, of Israelis Thatjust want to get back to their homes, back to cultivating their land. These have all been disrupted by hezbollah in the last year under the instruction of nasrallah since the 8th Of October Last year, precisely because thats what he built this capability for. That has to change. When we conducted this operation, new order, its precisely because we need a new order in this situation. I want to ask you also about the lebanese people. Nearly 800 people have been killed in the last week and a half. Hezbollah may have hidden its rockets, long range weapons and missiles among civilians, but israel knows what will happen to the civilians who still find themselves there in the line of fire. Does israel accept any responsibility for those civilian deaths . When you say they may have positioned these capabilities, i think there is absolutely no doubt that hezbollah intentionally, in an insidious way, positioned intentionally as a strategy their nerve centre, their headquarters, their rocket launchers, their missiles all of their tools, in and around this civilian arena. When we went after the headquarters of Hassan Nasrallah Last Night, we understood that if we dont deal with it, there would be much more destruction by him and hisjihad council. If you suggest we should not defend ourselves and the civilians of israel because has Hassan Nasrallah intentionally positioned his tools of terrorism behind the people of lebanon, thats an absurd request. I would say yes, we need to to man these Terrorism Tools be removed, we need to make sure they can be removed and for the improvement of israelis and lebanese together. I think the situation where expecting we do not defend ourselves is an absurd expectation. But my question still stands. Does israel accept any responsibility for those civilian deaths as well . We know what you say about hezbollah� s roll about putting this people on the line of fire. A Terrorist Army that built its weapons intentionally in contravention with international humanitarian law, international humanitarian law, in contravention of the laws of armed conflict, and the united Nations Security Council resolution from 2006 that dictated that hezbollah should not have any Weapons South of the river, but it has. There has been a failure of the system, and israel is taking responsibility for its civilians that have been under fire now for a year, unprovoked, because hezbollah chose to join this war, so we are taking the fight to hezbollah. They are responsible for every single death that is resulting in our activities, and it is their responsibility because it is precisely their strategy of where they put those rockets, missiles, drones, headquarters, command centres, communications capabilities. It is a system. They have done this in a way that we would be having this conversation tonight, talking about the legality of it. Of course it is legal. It is the right thing to do and the moral thing to do as well. I have to move you on. We short on time, that you mention there are more than 60,000 israelis who have not been able to return to their homes once because of hezbollah attacks. There are also more than 100,000 lebanese reSidents on the move too as a result of the few days. Where does this end . Is anyone any safer . Are israelis any safer . Obviously, it hasjust israelis any safer . Obviously, it has just begun on the front with lebanon. We are taking our steps strategically, moving slowly but swiftly and decisively against hezbollah and against their weapons. It could be over if they surrender, if they stop launching these rockets, and if there is a solution, from our perspective, from a military perspective, from a military perspective, our goal is a very clear and we are determined to implement those and make sure that the people can get home safely and securely. I would say that can be delivered on both Sides of the fence. Of course, we are concerned with what happens on our Side. Lebanon needs to be concerned with what is happening on the lebanese Side. 33 people have been killed, hundred 95 wounded in israeli strikes on lebanon on saturday. In Northern Israel, gatherings have been limited to 10 people in the open and 150 inSide, and work and educational activity only allowed with Shelter Facilities at hand. Earliertoday, 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. The state of israel has eliminated Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of hezbollah. He was the murder 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. Yoav gallant, israels defence minister. Hamas has issued a statement in reaction to the killing of hezbollah� s leader, Hassan Nasrallah. Posted on its telegram group, hamas said we mourn for our palestinian people and our arab and islamic nations. The martyr, sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the chief of hezbollah, who was a martyred with other leaders during the Al Aqsa Storm battle and on the way to freejerusalem, during his support to our palestinian people and our resistance against the zionist enemy. Maha yahya is the director of the carnegie Middle East center, based in beirut. She gave me her assessment a little earlier. The situation is quite tense, there is a lot of anxiety, people are worried about what is coming next, some are grieving for Hassan Nasrallah, others are not, but there is a lot of tension. People are sleeping in the, according to the minister of, people who have been because Last Night, people were literally leaving with nothing on, they had to leave their houses immediately and slept out in the open, in open spaces, parks, wherever it was available. So, the situation is incredible intense and, you know, we dont know what is coming next, basically. Yes, and i saw that flash on the agency wires from the lebanese government saying that the number, as you mentioned, they report of people on the move, people displaced from their homes in lebanon now at1 million, they say. Ijust wonder, now in terms of the way you analyse where this goes from here, how fearful people are there and how fearful you are there and how fearful you are of this now triggering some kind of wider escalation, as so many people have feared it might . Many people have feared it miaht . ,. ,. , might . There are a lot Of Concerns. Might . There are a lot Of Concerns. One, might . There are a lot Of Concerns. One, in might . There are a lot Of Concerns. One, in terms| might . There are a lot of i concerns. One, in terms of might . There are a lot Of Concerns. One, in terms of the displaced, people dont really know where to go. Many of those who were displaced to the suburbs because they thought israel would not escalate to the point of bumming bombing that southern suburbs have been displaced again. There is a lot of Anger Variety around that, israel yesterday, it was almost 12 hours of Relentless Bombardment which has continued this morning. So, the sense that they have taken out Hassan Nasrallah, they have hit a lot of hezbollah� s arsenal, maybe it. Here, no, it will not stop here. The government of israel is not willing to take its win, so to speak, so there is a lot of concern that this can escalate and can escalate very quickly. Everyone is waiting to see what tehran is going to do now. So far, all indications are it is not going to do much, at least for now. We are also waiting to see what the other partners, the Axis Of Resistance and the popular mobilisation forces, whether they will take action and join this fight or not. They have been firing some missiles but it is nowhere near what they were estimated to do in the past. Were estimated to do in the ast. ~. Were estimated to do in the ast, ~. ,. , were estimated to do in the ast. ~. ,. , past. We are hearing from the lebanese past. We are hearing from the lebanese health past. We are hearing from the lebanese Health Ministry past. We are hearing from the lebanese Health Ministry Thatj lebanese Health Ministry that just in todays strikes, the israeli strikes on saturday, the lebanese Health Ministry said that 33 people have been killed, 195 wounded. That doesnt include the strike that was overnight on Friday Evening against the target where Hassan Nasrallah was killed. Butjust in those strikes today, saturday alone, 33 dead, 195 wounded. Lets hear now from our Correspondent Anna Foster in beirut. She gave me a sense of what the atmosphere is like in the lebanese capital this evening. This time yesterday, we still had the confusion and the fear and people trying to work out what had happened after the very large air strike, that we felt and we heard, and we saw the plume of smoke just a few kilometres away. We saw people fleeing from those areas in the southern suburbs of beirut and we had seen again people and martyrs squared behind me, families with bags, with children, trying to find somewhere to shelter, along the Seafront Area along the mediterranean, some of those people again through the day to day have been out on the straights. When i heard the news of the death of Hassan Nasrallah, again we saw pictures of people incredibly emotional at what had happened because for his supporters here, as frank was describing, here, as frank was describing, he was very much seen as a hero, as a totemic figure of hezbollah but of course in other parts of the region, in israel, in its area as well, and by people here in lebanon, he was very much a person who brought Terror And Destruction to thousands of lives. What people here are now really concerned and fearful about is what will happen next because as we have been reflected in, there are so many different scenarios, so many different groups, organisations, countries, people, who are now trying to decide what they want to do next, if they want to send a response, if they want to escalate, if they want to talk about things. And one thing that has been particularly notable here over the last, you know, week or so now is that every morning people wake up without a sense of what the day will bring. And i think for a lot of people here, that Fear And Confusion and uncertainty has been incredibly destabilising and certainly anybody who you will speak to, Notjust In Beirut but across lebanon, will tell you that they remember 2006, they remember the civil war, and i hope that some kind of solution can be found to try and ease the tensions in what is an incredibly, aelstrom, frankly, as a regent right now. A maelstrom. The bbc� s former Middle East Correspondentjim Muir lives in beirut. He explained what life had been like there in the last few days. Well, in my particular area, we havent been directly hit by israeli strikes, but weve been affected by them in that. Obviously, we heard the huge explosions yesterday, the ones that got Hassan Nasrallah. That was unprecedented. I mean, in all my years here, ive never heard anything quite like that before. Theres a series of big explosions but rammed together in about two seconds. Quite extraordinary. So we knew something was was going on. And i actually said, nasrallah, because its the only thing i could imagine would be of that enormity. So my region hasnt been actually hit. We can hear stuff going on from time to time. But what has happened is that, especially overnight Last Night, theres been quite a flood of displaced people coming in from the southern suburbs because, as youll recall, after hitting nasrallahs centre, the israelis warned people in very specific areas of the southern suburbs to evacuate immediately and get get well away from certain buildings because they were going to be hit, which indeed they were during the night along with a lot of other targets in various parts of the country, so weve got an awful lot. The demography has changed basically overnight. Theres a lot of people around who we havent seen before. A lot of buildings, including my own, and the one just across the little Cul De Sac here, are now full of people from out of town, just desperate to find somewhere to to stay. And thats the same in many parts. Theyve actually been sleeping out in the streets. Luckily the weather is okay at the moment for that, but if it had been earlier too hot and later its going to be wet and horrible, um, so thats the situation now. Just a lot of tension and people wondering what comes next. And jim, you talk about that hit being something that youd never experienced before. And then you said, this must have been nasrallah when you when you heard it Last Night. What was known about so called Hezbollah Hq . I mean, was it widely known that he might be there . And what sort of Compound Centre was it . Was it Deep Underground underneath a reSidential building . Well, it was in an area that apparently, according to local people in that area, was known to be a kind of Hezbollah Sort of compound, as it were. The israelis knocked down four buildings, which presumably were all related to hezbollah. Now, Who Else was in the building . We dont really know. It could be that if there were reSidents, because these meetings were going on Deep Underground, and thats why they had to use so many bombs to blast their way down to that level. If there were people in the building, we havent heard a lot about heavy casualties, heavy, heavy fatalities. We dont know how many that the initial Casualty Toll in the first few hours was something like two killed, you know, quite a lot wounded, injured. So we dont know how heavily populated it was, but it was known locally that this was a hezbollah area. So people who were wary would have been keeping well away from that area. How difficult is it to assess where this leaves hezbollah . Somebody i spoke to earlier talked about its been heavily damaged in terms of its personnel, but its weaponry remains pretty strong. Yeah, weve still got a lot of rockets. And in fact, if you if you follow the the Social Media messages, its a lot of it is, you know, we fired this salvo of rockets in that direction and this volley in another direction and so on. So theyre still giving the impression that theyre very much in business. Um, and of course, israel is hitting notjust here in, in southern beirut, but all over the country in especially the Bekaa Valley in, in the east and above all, today down in tyre, around around tyre district, where a friend down there tells me there isnt a single village in the whole area, and its a big area down there and not a single village has remained unscathed. So hezbollah, hezbollah is signalling that even after all these assassinations and after the business of the Exploding Pagers and walkie talkies, which knocked out, i mean, put Out Of Business at least 1500, maybe 2000 hezbollah fighters, um, theyre still very much in business. But now youve got the boss gone, its very hard to see that this will not have an effect. Theyve got communication problems, they cant get immediately in touch with one another and they have command problems. Although it seems that although theyve lost a Big Raft of military commanders, they do seem to have a sort of Understudy Programme where one falls and is immediately replaced by somebody else because theres been no let up in their in their rocketing. And of course, israel has been redoubling its efforts to get at those rockets and get at any Hezbollah Target anywhere in the country and assassinating people as well. Even on the road to damascus, for example, a couple of people in their cars have been taken out because theyre trying to break any link between syria and lebanon. That could mean operatives or weapons and things coming across that border. Jim, youve been so closely involved in what goes on in lebanon for so many years. Youve watched hezbollah so closely as well. I mean, how do you read what iran may or may not do now, and its reluctance up to this moment to get further involved . Well, this has really put the ball in irans court, and its a big embarrassment to them because they know if they react in the way that their instincts tell them to, in other words, to hit back and to to take revenge for whats happened, um, that will be falling into israels trap, because they know that israel wants to lure them into a major war which would allow israel to strike their nuclear capabilities, etc. The supreme iranian national security council, for example, has just met and has put out a statement saying, you know, this will redouble the resistance, effort, etc. So theres lots of menacing noises coming out of tehran, but we havent seen any action, and theyre going to be very wary about doing anything that would lure them into a war that might involve The Americans, too, because they know they would come out second best in that. Theyve shied away from it, from the right back last october. They made it clear that they did not want to have a big war with israel. They might encourage their allies or proxies around the region to carry out harassment or other kind of operations against. Sometimes against americans. Or they have iraqi iranian backed militias in Iraq Firing missiles occasionally at israel, too. But iran itself does not want to get engaged in a major war which they know they would not win and which they simply dont want. And yet the pressure is really on them because this is a huge blow to them. Its, in a way, the Sort Ofjewel Hezbollah is like the jewel in the crown of their so called Axis Of Resistance. So its been a very major blow. Theres probably pressure from within to do something, but equally a knowledge that if they do, theyll be playing into israels hands. And how significant is it that, as far as it appears, the us, Israels Number one ally, was apparently blindSided by this action . Well, many people in the region just dont buy that. They say, you know, america is financing israel. Americas arming israel. Of course it knows whats going on. It is complicit in it. And, of course, Sident-biden'>PreSident Biden and even Kamala Harris have actually said the killing of nasrallah was just as achieved for some of his victims. So theres a lot of ambivalence on The American Side about Israels War against hezbollah. Some of the people theyre killing are people who were wanted by The Americans themselves because of things that happened back in the � 80s. So basically, they are very ambivalent here about The American posture. But certainly america looks terribly weak when it calls one day for a ceasefire, along with its allies, an immediate ceasefire for 21 days. The next thing that happens, benjamin netanyahu, launches this massive escalation, killing Hassan Nasrallah. And The Americans are sort of left blinking in astonishment. So it makes them look either complicit or very, very weak, enabling, but in no way controlling. And that is something that is baffling to many people in the region. Our Security Correspondent Frank Gardner who you also heard from earlier told me more about how things at this critical moment. I dont think it is inevitable that there will be a massive huge regional war because it is not in any ones interest, that i can think of so it really hinges on three questions. What will hezbollah do next . What will hezbollah do next . What will iran and its proxies do next . And what will israel do next . And what will israel do next . In the case of hezbollah, they are reeling, they are hurt, they are bleeding, their Command Structure has been decapitated, their communications have been sabotaged, the Weapons Dumps have been blown up, but they still have a very big arsenal buried below ground which includes these long range missiles. They will be some in their ranks who are baying for blood, baying for revenge. There is a video and Social Media that appears to show the son of Hassan Nasrallah screaming for revenge, at a practically angry, and they will be many of those fighters injured who will want revenge. The question is do they unleash this big long Range Arsenal of missiles, try to overwhelm Israels Air defences on cities like Tel Aviv . They could probably do that but the response from israel would be catastrophic for lebanon. We would talk about its infrastructure being taken infrastructure being Ta Ken apart. Infrastructure being taken apart. And israel has the united states and its back helping it to protect for any further retaliation. When it comes to iran, they have hid away hidden away their Leader And Katie to get assassinated, then not taking chances there. Iran has to decide how it will respond because was Pet Project since the early 1980s. It is the torchbearer for the Sonic Revolution in the arab world, it is a leader of the so called Axis Of Resistance. Iran can respond through the houthis in yemen, the militias in Syria And Iraq orsimply yemen, the militias in Syria And Iraq or simply sending a load of fighters to replenish hezbollah ranks. And then there is israel, what is israel going to do . They are not interested in a ceasefire, not now, they are on a roll, they think they have got hezbollah on the ropes and they want to carry this on. It is how to see how they can finish this without either capitulation by hezbollah, that is not going to happen, or they are going to have to go along the ground which is what they did in 2006, they are going to try and find those tunnels, deal with the weapons, blow them up, but it is going to be a bloody end far from easy fight. One of the last things Hassan Nasrallah said before his death was, if you come into South Lebanon to attack us, we view that as a historic opportunity. I view that as a historic Opportunity View that as a historic opportunity. View that as a historic o ortuni. ,. ,. , view that as a historic ouortuni. ,. ,. , opportunity. I was going to ask ou opportunity. I was going to ask you about opportunity. I was going to ask you about as opportunity. I was going to ask you about as far opportunity. I was going to ask you about as far as opportunity. I was going to ask you about as far as enemies i opportunity. I was going to ask| you about as far as enemies go, the difference between hamas who israel has been Fighting Intently since last october and hezbollah . Is this altogether a different force . It is hezbollah . Is this altogether a different force . Different force . It is a very different different force . It is a very different force different force . It is a very different force because different force because although there are similarities, they both hate the state of israel, they are both armed and funded and trained by iran, but hamas is tiny by comparison. They may have had a similar amount of fighters to begin with but their arsenal was 1. 0, compared to the sophistication of what has below has got. And partly this is due to geography because gaza is built largely on sand, if only got a look at the pictures, it is a very sandy, density environment, whereas South Lebanon is hard limestone rock, and those caves and tunnels, there is a labyrinth of them dug deep into southern lebanon, and it is going to take a long time to find all of those. They will be Booby Trapped and all sorts of Ambush Opportunities for has below. In 2006, i was part of the Bbc Team that covered that particular war between Israel And Hezbollah and i very clearly the head of the israeli Air Force saying, weve got theirs, we can do this from the air, no need from a ground incursion. They found they couldnt, they had to send in the army, and when they sent in these tanks, they got absolutely bloody nose from hezbollah. I mean, hezbollah didnt win it, neither Side did, some israeli commentators refer to it as a fiasco for israel, it wasnt easy, hezbollah exactly what direction to come from, they know the ambush roots, theyve got sophisticated of root mines, anti tank guided weapons, some of them supplied by iran, they trained for this intensively. It is not going to be a pushover if they go in our land. So, in a way, this is a case of who blinks first. The rays are growing up what they see as the success, they have eliminated a very dangerous enemy to their country, but this next phase is not going to be easy for them. Now its time for a look at Todays Sport with jane dougall. Hello from the bbc sport centre. Liverpool are top of the English Premier league after a 2 1win Over Wolverhampton Wanderers in saturdays late game. Liverpool went ahead at The End of the first half, but after the break, some poor defending Saw Rayan Ait Nouri Equalise for wolves. Liverpool were awarded a penalty in the second Half And Mo salah stepped up to score for the victory at molineaux. It leaves wolves in 20th place with a single point. Arne slot� s men have 15 points after six games, one more than both Manchester City and arsenal. It is always nice to win, especially away games, because i know how tough, after being here for such a sought, and how tough they are, especially away games. The first 1520 minutes but afterwards we took control of the game. But we are still difficult when for us. There were smiles from the Arsenal Manager Mikel arteta after a significant win over leicester. But they had to work hard for it. They lost a 2 0 lead in the second half with leicester rallying to draw level. However, Arsenals Stamina proved to be the difference as Kai Havertz sealed the victory with a fourth in injury time. How he handled the situation, because in the back of our minds, it should have been many more and it wasnt, and suddenly you have to delay against a very good team and very difficult circumstances. But i think we stayed really compose. We had a lot of clarity and we kept doing what we had to do and we have the right to win. So, liverpool are top of the table by one point from Manchester City and arsenal. City could only manage a draw against newcastle united. Brentford drew 1 1 with west ham. Chelsea were 4 2 winners over Brighton Cole Palmer scoring all four of their goals. Everton got their first win of the season with a 2 1 victory over Crystal Palace at goodison. And fulham beat Nottingham Forest 1 0. The world anti Doping Agency is appealing to the Court Of Arbitration For Sport against the Tribunal Verdict that the World Tennis Number one jannik sinner� s low level of a banned Anabolic Steroid was through no fault or negligence. The verdict ensured the Us Open winner escaped a ban. He was in Action Today in beijing, but last month, sinner received an anti Doping Sanction and was stripped of his money and ranking points from the indian Wells Tournament in march after he tested 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. South africa thrashed argentina to win the Rugby Championship for the first time since 2019. The springboks scored seven tries, with player of the Match Pieter Steph Du Toit getting two. The final match of the championship finished 48 7, with Aphele Fassi also scoring two tries in a dominant performance from the springboks. Argentinas score came through Fly Half tomas albornoz. 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 win. Tributes are continuing to be paid to Swiss Cyclist muriel furrer, who died yesterday at the Road Cycling World championships in zurich. She crashed in the Junior Race on thursday. The team of six swiss riders gathered at the front of the Start Line for a minutes silence, before leading off the start of the elite womens road race. It was going ahead with the blessing of the 18 year olds family. A Police Investigation into her death has been opened. Meanwhile, belgiums Lotte Kopecky won a thrilling race to retain her World Title on a Rain Drenched zurich course. The 154 kilometres came down to a sprint on the final City Circuit and she kept the title she won in glasgow last year. Chloe dygert took the silver with Elisa Longo Borghini back in third. And thats all the sport for now. Lets bring you a couple of lines around the story we have been reporting almost exclusively on this evening so far, the situation in the Middle East in the aftermath of that attack on the lebanese Capital Beirut in which israel killed the leader of hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah. Canada has announced aid to lebanon. It says it is deeply concerned by the conflict between israel and has below and canada is going to provide 10 million, canadian dollars, that is seven point million pounds, the equivalent, for humanitarian assistance for civilians in lebanon, that is according to the canadian foreign ministry. They say canada urges the protection of civilians, including humanitarian workers. There is the scene from beirut. Let me give you another line about the conflict in lebanon. The White House has said that there was information from israel that there would be an escalation before Hassan Nasrallahs death. Us officials were briefed on the possibility that israel would ramp up steps against hezbollah, including a possible ground operation. You will remember that Last Night and earlier today, The Pentagon came out and said they had not been let know in advance of Israels Actions against hezbollah. Hello there. Saturdays Sunny Skies will gradually be eroded by cloud and then Wind And Rain for many as we close out sunday. Yes, its going to gradually turn wet and windy, particularly from the South And West. Now weve already, in southern england, seen some record breaking Rainfall Totals for the month, and were just going to add to those totals over the next few days. Some areas could see another 50 to 60mm before we close out the month. So heres that area of low pressure gradually winding its way in from the southwest ahead of it, though clearer skies, so it will be a chilly start to our sunday morning. Some early morning sunshine, but gradually well see that cloud pushing its way steadily north and east, perhaps North East England and eastern scotland clinging on to the best of the brightness throughout the day. So as we go through to the afternoon, we mightjust see some Sunny Skies continuing, cloudy skies out to the west, a few isolated showers, temperatures generally between 12 and 14 degrees. Not too bad in the afternoon into Northern Ireland and North East England as well, but you can see The Cloud arriving. Therell be a few outbreaks of showers ahead of it moving through the midlands gradually, the heaviest of the rain pushing into South And West wales along with southwest england, and the winds, will strengthen to Gale Force gusts, with it too. Top temperatures generally then 12 to 15 degrees as we go through sunday afternoon. So those gusty winds will strengthen further overnight as that rain continues to move its way steadily north and east, pushing into the midlands, south East England and to the north of england by Dawn On Monday Morning. We keep the clearer skies in scotland. Here, still single figures, but not quite as cold to start Monday Morning with The Cloud, Wind And Rain. There is still a level of uncertainty exactly where this low pressure is going to sit. Its going to be pretty slow moving. Potentially the heaviest of the rain will always be across england and wales, with a few scattered sharper showers into Northern Ireland and a drier story for much of scotland. But well keep a close eye on that. Some of that rain really quite heavy across northwest england for a time, potentially brightening up by The End of the afternoon. Across central and southern england, 13 to 17 degrees, the low pressure slowly starts to ease away on tuesday and then on wednesday, a quieter story with a greater chance of seeing more sunshine for early october. Hello, im karin giannone. Lets bring you the very latest on the situation in the Middle East, live from london. The israeli prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the killing of the hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as a historic turning point. He said israel had settled the score with a man responsible for the murder of countless israelis, and would continue striking its enemies. Mr netanyahu said the elimination of the hezbollah leader was a necessary condition for achieving Israels War goals. The israeli leader was speaking on his return home from the un
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