Politicians across spectrum praise assassination of Hezbollah chief Nasrallah
Opposition leaders join ministers to laud ‘important achievement’ of killing Lebanese terror leader, though left-wing MK Merav Michaeli says government still broadly unfit
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Israeli politicians across the ideological spectrum on Saturday welcomed the death of long-time Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah after a massive Israeli airstrike in Beirut, with hardline members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cabinet calling on the premier to continue pounding the Iranian-backed terror group.
The airstrike, which came amid an Israeli offensive against the terror group following almost a year of daily rocket fire on Israel, destroyed the group’s headquarters in Beirut, killing Nasrallah and several other top commanders.
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana on Saturday posted a photo of the dead terror leader to X, along with a threat: “Whoever follows in his footsteps — will follow in his footsteps.”
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir praised Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and other cabinet officials for making the “important decision” to take out Nasrallah.
He said it was now time to continue to “dismantle” Hezbollah in order to “remove the threat from the State of Israel” and allow residents of the north to return home.
Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar stated that the strike on Hezbollah’s underground headquarters in the Lebanese capital restored Israeli “national honor” and “deterrence,” and that “with God’s help we will continue to do everything to defeat all our enemies and to return our hostages home.”
و هر که برود راه او، میرسد به جای او pic.twitter.com/fJb8YJx0qa
— Amir Ohana – אמיר אוחנה (@AmirOhana) September 28, 2024
Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi called Nasrallah “one of the greatest oppressors of the people of Israel,” and said that his elimination constitutes “a holiday” and “a new chapter written in the book of chronicles of the People of Israel.”
“This is a time that unites the hearts of the citizens of Israel with the hope and aspiration to win on all fronts, to return our hostages, and to bring our people a new reality of security and strength,” Karhi declared.
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, of the Yesh Atid party, wrote on X: “I congratulate the security establishment, the Israel Defense Forces, and the Air Force on the elimination of the mass murderer Hassan Nasrallah.
“Let all our enemies know that whoever attacks Israel is a dead man walking. This is an important achievement for the deterrence and security of Israel,” he wrote.
Benny Gantz, leader of the opposition National Unity party, said in a statement, “The elimination of Nasrallah and Hezbollah’s chain of command is a defining event” which has opened up opportunities for Israel.
“For this purpose, we need to continue the attack against our enemies, and to engage in political action with our friends,” he added.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, of the far-right Religious Zionism party, took to X after Shabbat, invoking the Biblical verse, “Yes, all your enemies will perish, O Lord.”
Smotrich called “to continue with all our might and crush all of Hezbollah, its fighters, its infrastructure, and its military capabilities.
“God willing, we will end this long war in Israel with all the citizens of Israel no longer facing a threat from either the north or the south,” he wrote.
MK Merav Michaeli, of the left-wing Democrats, welcomed the strike, but called on Israelis “not to be disoriented” by military successes, and criticized the government for what she said was a broader failure of strategy.
“The elimination of commanders, however senior they may be, does not change the simple fact — we are still in a war without an exit strategy, and our hostages are still in captivity,” she said on X.
Michaeli called on Israel to “leverage the advantage that the IDF obtained for us for a political settlement that will return the hostages and help strengthen the moderates and isolate Iran.
“This is the only thing that will guarantee the security of Israel,” she said.
“But Netanyahu and his government aren’t interested in an arrangement like that. They aren’t qualified — certainly not qualified for a war against Iran,” Michaeli continued.
“This is a government that will bring Israel to international isolation, and cause all our achievements to be lost, and we will face even greater dangers.
“Today, more than ever, we must replace Israel’s leadership, and remember that only a democratic state that relies on a strong army, a strong economy and political consensus can face our security challenges,” her post concluded.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
