Hezbollah confirms its leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike

Tel Aviv: Lebanon’s Hezbollah group has confirmed that its leader and one of its founders, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

A statement on Saturday said Nasrallah “has joined his fellow martyrs.”

The statement says Hezbollah vows to “continue the holy war against the enemy and in support of Palestine.”

Nasrallah led the militant group for more than three decades.

His death marks a devastating blow to Hezbollah as it reels from an escalating campaign of Israeli attacks. It is also a huge blow to Iran, given the major role he has played in the Tehran-backed regional “Axis of Resistance”.

Hezbollah said in a statement that it would continue its battle against Israel “in support of Gaza and Palestine, and in defence of Lebanon and its steadfast and honourable people”. It did not say how Nasrallah was killed.

Palestinian group Hamas said in a statement it mourned the death of the Hezbollah leader.

The Israeli military said earlier that Nasrallah was eliminated in a “targeted strike” on Friday (Saturday AEST) on the group’s underground headquarters beneath a residential building in Dahiyeh - a Hezbollah-controlled southern suburb of Beirut.

It said he was killed along with another top Hezbollah leader, Ali Karaki, and other commanders.

“The strike was conducted while Hezbollah’s senior chain of command were operating from the headquarters and advancing terrorist activities against the citizens of the State of Israel,” it said.

The airstrike on Dahiyeh shook Beirut. A security source in Lebanon said the attack - a quick succession of massively powerful blasts - had left a crater at least 20 metres deep.

It was followed by further airstrikes on Dahiyeh and other parts of Lebanon. Huge explosions lit up the night sky, and more strikes hit the area in the morning. Smoke rose over the city.

Residents have fled Dahiyeh, seeking shelter in downtown Beirut and other parts of the city.

AP and Reuters