Hezbollah confirms leader Hassan Nasrallah is dead

• Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed Friday in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon.
• His death could spark a broader conflict as Israel weighs ground operations in Lebanon.
• US officials confirmed to ABC that Israel has or could soon begin small-scale operations in Lebanon.

The Israel Defense Forces said on Saturday morning that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had been killed after it carried out an airstrike in Lebanon.

Hezbollah confirmed Nasrallah's death in a statement released later on Saturday afternoon. The Lebanese group pledged to "continue its jihad in confronting the enemy, in support of Gaza and Palestine, and in defense of Lebanon."

President Joe Biden said Nasrallah and Hezbollah "were responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade reign of terror."

"His death from an Israeli airstrike is a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians," Biden said in a statement on Saturday.

Nasrallah led the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon for more than three decades and is credited with expanding the group's military capabilities and stockpile of rockets and missiles.

His killing is a significant development in the regional conflict and could lead to a wider Middle East war. Israel had readied reservist troops on the Lebanese border earlier this week.

US officials confirmed to ABC News that Israeli troops may or may soon be conducting small-scale operations into Lebanon in an effort to take out Hezbollah positions on the border. Israel has not yet decided whether to launch a full-scale ground operation into its Northern neighbor, but the country is preparing for the possibility, the officials told ABC.

Such an operation would be limited in scope, CNN reported, citing a senior administration official and a US official. Israel's goal is to return roughly 60,000 Israeli residents to their homes near the northern border, the outlet reported.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told CNN this moment presents a "huge opportunity" for Israel to "remove this whole threat" of Hezbollah, calling on the people of Lebanon to "take back" their country from the Iran-backed militant group.

In response to the airstrikes that killed Nasrallah, Iran's ambassador to the United Nations called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to address what he described as Israel's "terrorist aggression" in Lebanon, NBC reported.

Air raid sirens rang throughout central Israel on Saturday evening local time as the country girded for possible retaliatory attacks from the various factions in the region allied with Hezbollah and Iran. The IDF said on Saturday it had intercepted a missile launched by the Houthis in Yemen.

Israel's airstrikes on Friday destroyed several high-rise apartment buildings in the residential neighborhood of Haret Hreik in south Beirut. The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health said that six people had died and 91 people were injured in the blasts, according to an early toll. That number is expected to rise.

Television footage from Beirut on Saturday morning showed plumes of smoke billowing from damaged buildings.

Israel has increasingly targeted top Hezbollah officials and operatives in recent weeks in strikes that have killed hundreds of people.

Hezbollah members were also targeted by a covert operation that involved detonating electronic communications devices. The sophisticated attack was attributed to Israel, though it hasn't claimed responsibility.

Tensions between the two sides have been on the rise since October 8, the day after the Hamas attack on Israel. Hezbollah launched projectiles into Israel in what it said was a show of solidarity with Hamas and the Palestinians affected by the conflict.

In his White House statement, Biden said he told his defense secretary to "further enhance the defense posture of U.S. military forces" in the region as a measure of deterrence, though he said the ultimate goal is conflict de-escalation "through diplomatic means."

Israel warns of challenging days ahead

The IDF said the attack that killed Nasrallah and some of his other top officials on Friday was part of a precision strike by Israel's air force on Hezbollah's central headquarters, which it said was located underground below a residential building.

In a televised press conference on Saturday, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said that Israel was on peak alert and warned of challenging days ahead.

"Israel does not seek a wider escalation," Hagari said, adding that the army was seeking to bring home hostages held by Hamas in Gaza and to ensure its borders are safe.

Israel's government has ordered its citizens not to hold large gatherings of more than 1,000 people in the central area of the country from today amid fears of a retaliation.

In a series of posts on X, Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, condemned the Lebanon strikes and showed solidarity with Hezbollah.

"Lebanon will make the trangressing, malicious enemy regret its actions," a post on Khamenei's account reads.

Iran is a close ally of Hezbollah and has funded the group for decades. Iran's state news agency said Saturday that Iranian Brigadier Gen. Abbas Nilforoushan also died in the Israeli strike that killed Nasrallah.

A spokesperson for the Pentagon said on Friday it had received no forewarning of Israel's operation in the Lebanese capital this weekend. The US and allies — including the United Kingdom, France, and Germany — issued a joint statement earlier this week calling for an immediate 21-day ceasefire across the Lebanon-Israel border.

Hezbollah is a US-designated foreign terrorist organization with fighters numbering between 40,000 and 50,000, according to the Congressional Research Service. The group also has close relationships with the government of Syria and Houthi militants in Yemen.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for further updates.