European reaction to killing of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah

Hezbollah confirmed on Saturday that its leader and one of its founders, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut the previous day.

Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah for more than three decades, is by far the most powerful target to be killed by Israel in weeks of intensified fighting with Hezbollah.

The Israeli military said it carried out a precise airstrike on Friday while the Hezbollah leadership were meeting at their headquarters in Dahiyeh, south of Beirut.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said six people were killed and 91 injured in the strikes, which levelled six apartment buildings.

Germany

The country’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, called the situation in Lebanon extremely dangerous and said the wider Middle East region was at risk of slipping into an “absolute spiral of violence”.

“The situation poses a serious threat to stability in the region, and the stability of Lebanon and this never serves the security and interests of Israel,” she said in a post on X.

France

The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs said it is in contact with Lebanese authorities in a bid to prevent further destabilisation.

Former MEP Jean-Luc Melenchon said the assassination of Nasrallah “is one more step towards the invasion of Lebanon and general war.”

“France no longer counts on the ground. Netanyahu’s crimes will continue since they are unpunished. The danger is extreme for the region and the world,” he wrote on X.

Italy

In a brief statement, Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani made no direct reference to Nasrallah’s death but urged all Italians in Lebanon to leave the country immediately.

“We call on all Italian citizens to leave Lebanon as soon as possible, also using the scheduled flights that continue to operate from Beirut airport to Milan and Rome,” he said in Cologne.

He also said that Israel had given guarantees for the security of more than 1,200 Italian soldiers stationed in southern Lebanon as part of a 10,000-strong UN peacekeeping force.

Russia

Russia’s foreign ministry said it strongly condemns the killing of Nasrallah and called on Israel to cease all hostilities in Lebanon.

“This forceful action is fraught with even greater dramatic consequences for Lebanon and the entire Middle East,” the statement said.

Türkiye

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemned Israel’s attacks in Lebanon as part of what he called a policy of “genocide, occupation, and invasion.”

In a post on X, Erdoğan said the Muslim world should show a more “determined” stance.

United Nations

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “gravely concerned” by what he called the “dramatic escalation” in Lebanon.

“This cycle of violence must stop now and all sides must step back from the brink. The people of Lebanon, the people of Israel, as well as the wider region, cannot afford an all-out war,” a statement from his office said.

United States

US President Joe Biden said the killing of Nasrallah was “a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis and Lebanese civilians.”

Biden reaffirmed American support for “Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and any other Iranian-supported terrorist groups.”

Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had “settled the score” with Nasrallah’s killing, calling it a “historic turning point”.

“We settled the score with the one responsible for the murder of countless Israelis and many citizens of other countries, including hundreds of Americans and dozens of French,” he said.

Iran

President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Nasrallah’s death “will only further strengthen the resistance,” adding that the US cannot deny complicity.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared five days of mourning and called on all Muslims to rise against Israel.

He said Nasrallah’s death “will not go unavenged.”

Hamas

Hamas condemned Nasrallah’s killing as a “cowardly, terrorist act.”

“We condemn in the strongest terms this barbaric Zionist aggression and targeting of residential buildings,” the group said in a statement.

“In the face of this Zionist crime and massacre, we renew our absolute solidarity and stand united with the brothers in Hezbollah and the Islamic resistance in Lebanon.”