BEIRUT (AP) — Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike last year while inside the militant group's war operations room, according to new details Sunday disclosed by a senior Hezbollah official.
A series of Israeli airstrikes flattened several buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Sept. 27, 2024, killing Nasrallah. The Lebanese Health Ministry said six people died. According to news reports, Nasrallah and other senior officials were meeting underground.
The assassination of Nasrallah, who had led Hezbollah for 32 years, turned months of low-level strikes between Israel and the militants into all-out war that battered much of southern and eastern Lebanon for two months until a U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect Nov. 27.
“His Eminence (Hassan Nasrallah) used to lead the battle and war from this location,” top Hezbollah security official Wafiq Safa told a news conference Sunday near near the site where Nasrallah was killed. He said Nasrallah died in the war operations room. He did not offer other details.
Lebanese media had reported that Safa was a target of Israeli airstrikes in central Beirut before the ceasefire but appeared unscathed.
During the first phase of the ceasefire, Hezbollah is supposed to move its fighters, weapons and infrastructure away from southern Lebanon north of the Litani River, while Israeli troops that invaded southern Lebanon need to withdraw all within 60 days. Lebanese army soldiers are to deploy in large numbers and alongside United Nations peacekeepers be the sole armed presence in southern Lebanon.
Lebanon and Hezbollah have been critical of ongoing Israeli strikes and overflights across the country and for only withdrawing from two of dozens of Lebanese villages it controls. Israel says that the Lebanese military has not done its share in dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure.
Hezbollah’s current leader Naim Kassem in a televised address Saturday warned that its fighters could strike Israel if its troops don’t leave the south by the end of the month.
Meanwhile, Israel’s defense minister Israel Katz echoed similar sentiments should Hezbollah's militants not head north of the Litani River and their infrastructure remain intact.
“If this condition is not met, there will be no agreement, and Israel will be forced to act on its own to ensure the safe return of the residents of (Israel’s) north to their homes,” he said.
Safa said that Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, who negotiated the ceasefire deal with Washington, told Hezbollah that the government will meet with U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein soon. “And in light of what happens, then there will be a position,” said Safa.
Hochstein had led the shuttle diplomacy efforts to reach the fragile truce.
A woman holds up a poster of the slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah during a ceremony marking death anniversary of the late commander of the Iran's Revolutionary Guard expeditionary Quds Force, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a U.S. drone attack in 2020, at the Imam Khomeini grand mosque in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Alex Tuch scored twice, JJ Peterka had the deciding goal in the shootout and the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Washington Capitals 4-3 on on Monday night.
Tage Thompson also scored for the Sabres. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 25 saves and stopped three of four shooters in the shootout to end their three-game losing skid. Tuch also scored during the shootout.
Tom Wilson scored twice, Aliaksei Protas added a goal and an assist, and Charlie Lindgren made 24 saves for the Capitals.
Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin was kept off the scoresheet. He needs 23 goals to pass Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal scoring record of 894. He’s scored four times in six games since he returned to the lineup after missing 16 games with a broken leg.
Capitals: Washington lost in a shootout for the second time in three games. They also dropped a 4-3 decision to the Minnesota Wild on Jan. 2. They’re 2-0-2 in their past four games.
Sabres: Buffalo was able to prevent an extended losing streak with the win. Their previous skid lasted 13 games.
Peterka’s shootout winner came after he skated slowly to the right of Lindgren and snapped a shot that beat him low to his left-hand blocker side.
Thompson’s power-play goal was measured at 103.7 mph and is the hardest shot to result in a goal this season. Thompson also has the league’s hardest recorded shot this season of 106 mph.
The Capitals return home to face the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday while the Sabres head to Ottawa to take on the Senators on Thursday.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
Washington Capitals left wing Pierre-Luc Dubois, center, tries to split the defense of Buffalo Sabres defensemen Owen Power, right, and Henri Jokiharju during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y., Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, left, tries to shield Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin off the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y., Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson (72) controls the puck in front of Washington Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren, right, during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y., Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary (42) pushes Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson (72) over Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren (79) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y., Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
Buffalo Sabres center Dylan Cozens, left, reaches for the puck as Washington Capitals center Aliaksei Protas loses his stick during the first period of an NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y., Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
Washington Capitals defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk, right, clears the puck off the line from behind goalie Charlie Lindgren during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo, N.Y., Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
Buffalo Sabres right wing Alex Tuch, left, celebrates after scoring as Washington Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun, right,reacts during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Buffalo, N.Y., Monday, Jan. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)
