By Abiola Olawale
President of the United States, Joe Biden has hailed the killing of Hassan Nasrallah, leader of a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party, Hezbollah.
This as the US President described the killing of Nasrallah as a “measure of justice” for victims of a four-decade “reign of terror.”
Biden, in a statement released by the White House, noted that the operation to take out Nasrallah took place in the broader context of the conflict that began with Hamas’ massacre of Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023.
He also noted that Hezbollah, under Nasrallah’s watch, has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans, Israelis and Lebanese.
“Nasrallah, the next day, made the fateful decision to join hands with Hamas and open what he called a ‘northern front’ against Israel,” Biden said in the statement.
This comes after Lebanon’s Hezbollah group confirmed st the weekend that Nasrallah, one of the group’s founders, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday.
Recall that the Israeli military, on Saturday, claimed it killed Hezbollah’s leader in an air attack on Lebanon’s capital, Beirut.
In a statement, the Israeli military stated: “Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorise the world.”
The New Diplomat reports that Nasrallah led Hezbollah through decades of conflict with Israel, overseeing its transformation into a military force.
He was born in Beirut in 1960 to a Shia family in Beirut’s impoverished suburb of Sharshabouk.
He joined Hezbollah in 1982, the year it was formed, following his involvement in the Amal movement, a political and paramilitary organisation.
After rising through its ranks, the 64-year-old led Hezbollah in conflicts with Israel and took part in the conflict in neighbouring Syria.
Under his leadership, the group was transformed into a regional military and political power.
