in southern beirut where the military says hezbollah is storing weapons. several buildings in dahieh — hezbollah�*s stronghold in the south of the city. these are live pictures, you these are live pictures, you can see smoke still rising can see smoke still rising across the skyline of beirut. across the skyline of beirut. hello. hello. welcome to the programme. welcome to the programme. we start with breaking news. we start with breaking news. in the last hour israel has in the last hour israel has claimed to have killed claimed to have killed the leader of hezbollah, and most influential the leader of hezbollah, hassan nasrallah, hassan nasrallah, in an overnight in an overnight strike on beirut. strike on beirut. this this is the scene live in is the scene live in lebanon's capital — lebanon's capital — you can see the smoke still you can see the smoke still rising. rising. let's quickly remind let's quickly remind ourselves who hassan nasrallah was. ourselves who hassan nasrallah was. he's was the leader he's was the leader of lebanon's militant shia islamist hezbollah of lebanon's militant shia islamist hezbollah movement, with close movement, with close

links to iran. links to iran. he was one of the best known he was one of the best known and most influential figures in the middle east. born in 1960, hassan nasrallah grew up in beirut�*s eastern bourj hammoud neighbourhood. he became leader of hezbollah in 1992, at the age of 32, after his predecessor was assassinated. he played a key role in turning hezbollah into a powerful political and military force. under his leadership, he helped hezbollah train hundreds of fighters from the palestinian militant group hamas. and he also obtained missiles and rockets from iran for use against israel. let's speak to anna foster, our middle east correspondent in beirut. talk us through exactly what we know about what happened there. this is a really crucial moment now. last night, about 6:20pm here in beirut, we had this

huge series of explosions a few kilometres from where i am now in dahieh, in the southern suburbs, a hezbollah stronghold. we saw pictures quickly of absolute destruction coming out of that area,

quickly of absolute destruction coming the >f that area, quickly of absolute destruction coming the rubble area, quickly of absolute destruction coming the rubble here. it was through the rubble here. it was interesting, last night hugo, my colleague, went down to the scene and often journalists will be allowed in for a short time to report on what has happened. i did that the day before, but yesterday immediately afterwards, they were stopping anybody going anywhere near the scene. they are still combing through it. we still have a reasonably low death toll, only six people killed, but that we expect to increase as they go through the rubble and the damage and destruction and work out what is actually happening there. what i think we are waiting for now is some kind of statement either from now is some kind of statement eitherfrom hezbollah now is some kind of statement either from hezbollah or from iran and what has happened to hassan nasrallah. israel have a very sophisticated networks, when you look at what they have been doing in southern beirut in the last week, they have managed to kill several top

hezbollah commanders, so their intelligence and weaponry is capable of doing that. hassan nasrallah is on a different level, he is a totemic figure within hezbollah, an important figure, the face of the organisation, so he has been a big target for them. if they have successfully killed him, it will be seen in israel as a huge success, it will be seen in lebanon as a huge blow and equally in iran. but one final thought, we saw from iran last night something interesting, the first messaging was that he was fine, well and safe, but that started to change slightly and they were saying, any organisation that has a leader and somebody in place ready to take over, and now we have this period of more than 12 hours of silence from hezbollah and iran, no confirmation one way or the other. that will be the key and we continue to watch and wait for some kind of statement so we can work out

exactly what the result was. we know from a civilian perspective, the result was that many people were wounded and we expect to hear many more than the current death toll of six have been killed. lils than the current death toll of six have been killed.- six have been killed. us a sense of— six have been killed. us a sense of what _ six have been killed. us a sense of what the - six have been killed. us a sense of what the impact| six have been killed. us a . sense of what the impact has been on the ground there. think about beirut _ been on the ground there. think about beirut as _ been on the ground there. think about beirut as a _ been on the ground there. think about beirut as a capital - been on the ground there. think about beirut as a capital city, i about beirut as a capital city, this is a huge and i want to say thriving, because in many ways beirut is thriving, it has lebanese people who live here and who go about their lives day by day, but 11 on has suffered multiple crises in recent years. —— lebanon. we are talked about it before, whether it has been electricity, medicines, fuel. life in beirut has been difficult in recent years. but the sense of nervousness today, notjust people in the capital, but people right across the country, to see a strike of

this size, we are not technically in a time of war, although that sounds strange to say stop what is the official definition of a war? but we keep hearing about fears of a new war, a new phase in the war, but it was the size and scale of what happened last night, this first huge explosion and then these air strikes that continued until about 3am, around dahieh and the southern suburbs. people were receiving the messages from the idf telling them to evacuate the area. where'd you go in city like that? we saw last night and this morning people fleeing and gathering their bags and families in getting out of that area. we know people that you can see behind me, you can see the beautiful mosque with the blue dome, in front of it is the square and people had been sleeping and sitting in the square overnight, people are down in the area by the water, people now do not have anywhere

to go because while strikes are those continuing, they feel they are not safe so have been told to go. efforts have been made to open reception centres in different parts of the capital, to use schools to house people, as they have been doing that tens of thousands of families who have left the south of lebanon, at the moment, the mood is incredibly difficult. people have seen a war before, into thousand six, the civil war, and they know what this can look like. —— in 2006. what this can look like. -- in 2006. ., ~ what this can look like. -- in 2006. .,~,. what this can look like. -- in 2006. ., ~ ., what this can look like. -- in 2006. .,~,. ~ .,. 2006. thank you, anna. we will aet more 2006. thank you, anna. we will get more developments - 2006. thank you, anna. we will get more developments on - 2006. thank you, anna. we will get more developments on the i get more developments on the ground in beirut. let's speak to miri eisin, a former colonel for israel defense forces and the director of the international institute for counter terrorism at reichman university. thank you for coming on the programme. thank you for coming on the programme-— thank you for coming on the programme.- what - thank you for coming on the programme. esq. what is your programme. coq. what is your reaction to _ programme. coq. what is your reaction to what _ programme. coq. what is your reaction to what we _ programme. (fr. what is your reaction to what we have this morning?— morning? this is a new day, hassan nasrallah, _

morning? this is a new day, hassan nasrallah, the - morning? this is a new day, - hassan nasrallah, the secretary general of hezbollah, a terror organisation designated as such by the uk, the eu, most of the western world, and he ruled for 32 years. he was in attack, a figure, he was also the main figure, he was also the main figure who amassed an enormous amount of weapons inside lebanon underneath what you could say, the hezbollah headquarters, you had rockets and missiles. 0ne headquarters, you had rockets and missiles. one of the places attack this morning, the idf put out a notice to the people that they had to leave because it was iranians land that could have threatened any of shipping within the eastern mediterranean. we are talking about the disappearance of an important figure and a new time for us. around here it is not happy but it is a need time. i knew time, is this a

provocation —— a new time, is this a provocation or escalation? ., ., escalation? hezbollah have attacked israel _ escalation? hezbollah have attacked israel everyday i escalation? hezbollah have| attacked israel everyday for the last 11 months. 70,000 israelis were removed from their homes, we did this at the beginning of the war because hezbollah had planned to do and october the 7th attack. they have been practising it for years under the leadership of hassan nasrallah. after 11.5 months, if israel has these capabilities that it has shown over the last week and a half, it shows the restraint we have had. this is not provocative at all. this is israel trying to go through with negotiations are trying to go through and do the different aspects, and when everything fails, this is about defending and stopping this terror organisation which is bad for lebanon and the world, notjust israel.— notjust israel. where does this leave _ notjust israel. where does this leave iran? _

notjust israel. where does this leave iran? is - notjust israel. where does this leave iran? is that's i notjust israel. where does| this leave iran? is that's not the biggest _ this leave iran? is that's not the biggest question - this leave iran? is that's not the biggest question on - this leave iran? is that's not the biggest question on the| the biggest question on the table right now? the islamic regime of iran, for them hezbollah was the best of their pupils, but one that almost outshone teacher. hezbollah was the terror force and iran had to train the proxies fighting against israel in the last 11 and a half months, just in the last few days, from iraq, from yemen, they fired into ballistic missiles against israel. the question now is, will iranjoin in? because israel is degrading the islamic regime of iran's main force. i do not want any war, i did not want 0ctober do not want any war, i did not want october the 7th, i did not want october the 7th, i did not want hezbollah to be training as they work to do what they are doing against israel. i want the deterrence, the capability and infiltration and capabilities we have will be enough to deter.—

enough to deter. israel's allies have _ enough to deter. israel's allies have been - enough to deter. israel's allies have been calling i enough to deter. israel's l allies have been calling for enough to deter. israel's - allies have been calling for a 21 day ceasefire and so far not much sign of the israeli government are interested in that. how do developments today change that at all? 21 that. how do developments today change that at all?— change that at all? 21 days, before the _ change that at all? 21 days, before the attack _ change that at all? 21 days, before the attack in - change that at all? 21 days, before the attack in the - change that at all? 21 days, | before the attack in the last 24 before the attack in the last 2a hours, was just time to allow hezbollah to attack israel with missiles and drones, into civilian communities for the last 11 and a half months. the calls for the ceasefire were only going to help hezbollah, the terrorist organisation. when israel went on the initiative, including the attack of last night, that changes it but it is not over. hezbollah has enormous force, we have been degrading it but i'm still very scared of infantry terror forces on the other side of the border in lebanon, there are lots of footage of them

training to attack israel. what if they now decide to attack israel and take hostages? look at what the hostages hamas. so do you want to see a ground incursion of israeli forces into lebanon on? i incursion of israeli forces into lebanon on? i would like to see the — into lebanon on? i would like to see the world _ into lebanon on? i would like to see the world vilify - to see the world vilify hezbollah, tell them to stop and not do any kind of attack and not do any kind of attack and there would be no ground incursion. right now i am not for ground incursion but i still cannot tell my friends up north, the 70,000 civilians evacuated from october of 2023, to go home. hezbollah is still a threat. we have degraded it, we have changed the equation, but they are still a threat directly against israel. thank ou for directly against israel. thank you for coming _ directly against israel. thank you for coming on _ directly against israel. thank you for coming on the - you for coming on the programme. a little early i spoke to oui’

our security correspondent for his reaction to what happened. it isa it is a massive escalation, no question about it, this is israel throwing down the gauntlet to iran, basically saying we are not going to tolerate this we will take apart this militant organisation iran has built on the northern border and this has repercussions throughout the whole middle east because hezbollah is bigger thanjust hezbollah is bigger than just lebanon. hezbollah is bigger thanjust lebanon. it has been fighting in syria in support of the president against an insurgency there, it has trained fighters in iraq, in yemen and around the middle east. it is around's means of projecting the iranian islamic revolution around the middle east. and even beyond, hezbollah has even been accused of terrorist activities abroad, it is a prescribed terrorist organisation. but hassan

nasrallah, he is revered by many shia muslims, he is disliked by many sunny must in governments, but revered by many people. but the key question is how will iran react to this? because israel is saying the gloves are off, they targeted a building where they knew he was, it was in a residential area and there were several senior commanders with him. systematically, hezbollah's entire command structure has been dismantled by israel. it is like watching a predator pick apart carcass of an animal, it is taking it apart first with the pager explosions, then all of these air strikes. a lot of lebanese civilians are getting killed in the process, the death toll is very high already, over 800. in the last war between israel and

hezbollah into thousand six, there were around 1000 people roughly killed over 3a days. we are nearly at that figure after just a week. —— in 2006. are nearly at that figure after just a week. -- in 2006. where does this _ just a week. -- in 2006. where does this leave _ just a week. -- in 2006. where does this leave conversation - does this leave conversation over escalation, fears of regional conflict, the ceasefire, the big questions we have been talking about for months and months? how does this change the perception, the operation or how they are viewed? it operation or how they are viewed?— operation or how they are viewed? , , . ., ., viewed? it is very clear that under benjamin _ viewed? it is very clear that| under benjamin netanyahu, viewed? it is very clear that - under benjamin netanyahu, the israeli prime minister, israel has no intention of stopping or backing down. they think they have hezbollah on the back foot, on the ropes. they are going for broke and are determined, they clearly do not think there is any value in having a 21 day ceasefire, which is what many of israel's allies have been calling for.

at the time that benjamin netanyahu was delivering his speech yesterday, at the un, he already knew, he had signed the orderfor this. already knew, he had signed the orderforthis. he already knew, he had signed the orderfor this. he had given the go—ahead for this operation and then israel released that picture of him on the phone saying, yes, do it. so the plans for this were drawn up already some time ago. israeli intelligence, which dropped ball massively on october the 7th, is now being hailed by israelis as being back up at the top of its form because clearly they know, they have incredible sources as to where people are. some people are saying, this is because they simply offer to inside lebanon that some people are desperate and they have agreed to work for the israelis, they would be considered traitors of course but the fact is, hezbollah is being dismantled bit by bit. 0ur being dismantled bit by bit. our thanks to frank speaking to me moments ago.

let's speak to yossi beilin — a former israeli minister ofjustice, who an initiator of the oslo diplomatic process between israel and the palestinians. thank you for coming on the programme. what is your immediate reaction when you heard the news this morning? it creates a kind of crossroads and we should do our best in order to change the situation for the better. after 32 years of hezbollah actually ruling lebanon and making it poor and miserable, and i think there are no real contentious issues between us and lebanon. unlike theissue between us and lebanon. unlike the issue with the palestinians, which i believe is solvable but regretfully my government does not think so.

thinking about lebanon, there is no real problem. in all the years, if you remember, people said lebanon would be the first arab country to make peace with israel and it has not happened until now and will not happen because others did it before it. but maybe now, maybe now it is possible that the government of lebanon and hezbollah's new leadership, with the help of the americans and the french, will go back to the agreement from 89, in which there was a decision that hezbollah was part of, that no militias will act within lebanon and all the weapons will be under the lebanese government and the un

1701 resolution of 2006 which spoke about the withdrawal of hezbollah from the area close to the israeli border.- to the israeli border. your head clearly _ to the israeli border. your head clearly is _ to the israeli border. your head clearly is one - to the israeli border. your head clearly is one of - to the israeli border. your head clearly is one of the | head clearly is one of the escalation going forward. —— your hope clearly is one of ds. do you think there is a possibility of escalation? yes but we must _ possibility of escalation? yes but we must do _ possibility of escalation? yes but we must do whatever we can. those people in the world who care for lebanon, for israel, who do not want to see an ongoing war in vain should do their best, in order to suggest ideas, to come to the region and try to change it, because the death of hassan nasrallah is also an opportunity. but not an opportunity for revenge and killing each other, but an opportunity for more moderate and pragmatic people, perhaps i'm sure there are such people,

evenin i'm sure there are such people, even in hezbollah, with whom we can change the situation on the ground. can change the situation on the round. ~ ., ., i. can change the situation on the round. ~ ., ., ,, ~' can change the situation on the round. ~ ., ., i. ~ ., ground. what do you think iran will do now? _ ground. what do you think iran will do now? i— ground. what do you think iran will do now? i am _ ground. what do you think iran will do now? i am not- ground. what do you think iran will do now? i am not wise - will do now? i am not wise enough- — will do now? i am not wise enough- i— will do now? i am not wise enough. i really _ will do now? i am not wise enough. i really don't - will do now? i am not wise. enough. i really don't know. will do now? i am not wise i enough. i really don't know. i hope that perhaps the new president, who seems to be more pragmatic than some of his predecessors, will try to go for an agreement and will not push hezbollah for revenge and for ongoing war.— for ongoing war. now the leadership _ for ongoing war. now the leadership of— for ongoing war. now the leadership of hezbollah l for ongoing war. now the l leadership of hezbollah has been eliminated, do you think it is now time for benjamin netanyahu to accept that idea of a 21 day ceasefire? ida. netanyahu to accept that idea of a 21 day ceasefire? no, this is not- -- _ of a 21 day ceasefire? no, this is not... the _ of a 21 day ceasefire? no, this is not... the news _ of a 21 day ceasefire? no, this is not... the news yesterday. | is not... the news yesterday. we do not need 21 of ceasefire. we do not need 21 of ceasefire. we need for a very big change.

and the change is that hezbollah will be ready to accept agreements which it had agreed upon years ago. this will change everything, and then allow the lebanese week government to... d0 then allow the lebanese week government to. . ._ then allow the lebanese week government to... do you think hezbollah _ government to... do you think hezbollah will _ government to... do you think hezbollah will be _ government to... do you think hezbollah will be open - government to... do you think hezbollah will be open to - government to... do you think| hezbollah will be open to those ideas you are talking about without the need for an israeli ground incursion, for example, order you think that will happen, that is really horses will be crossing into lebanon? it should not happen, we do not need it. people will be killed in order to achieve what? the israeli aim is to bring back the people who live in the north of israel and who became refugees in the last year. this is possible if hezbollah is not saying, as long as hamas is

continuing its war against you after the massacre of october the 7th last year, we will continue the war against you. if this remains, nothing will happen. and there will be just an ongoing warand happen. and there will be just an ongoing war and the ground operation and all of these things, that god knows, who needs them? nos! forwhat things, that god knows, who needs them? nos! for what aim? —— god knows! needs them? nos! for what aim? -- god knows!— -- god knows! thank you for cominu -- god knows! thank you for coming on — -- god knows! thank you for coming on the _ -- god knows! thank you for coming on the programme. l -- god knows! thank you for. coming on the programme. our coming on the programme. 0ur correspondent gave us the latest from beirut. this is going to be a massive blow and we have seen that this is coming after a series of assassinations targeting key hezbollah leaders and commanders over the last few weeks. 0bviously hassan nasrallah was the head of hezbollah for decades, and don't forget, this is a powerful organisation, much more than a militia, it is a

political party in 11. it has representation in parliament, it is part of the government. —— a political party in lebanon. it is a huge blow for hezbollah and a huge colour from —— difficult to see how they will organise a response. senior commanders have been killed, we have seen those attacks targeting the communications network of the group, meaning the group has difficulties carrying out its communications. it is a significant blow for hezbollah, it is also a very dangerous and delicate moment for lebanon because of hezbollah's importance and relevance in this country. it is very difficult moment for the lebanese, as you can see behind me, hundreds of people who have been affected by what is happening across the country. again, authorities saying they

are struggling to cope with the number of casualties from those israeli air strikes — around 800 people killed as a result of those attacks. tens of thousands of people displaced from their homes in the south and east, two hezbollah strongholds in lebanon. a lot of pressure on authorities as well. 0bviously of pressure on authorities as well. obviously a significant development and really unclear what will happen next, not only for the country but in terms of what hezbollah will do. i for the country but in terms of what hezbollah will do.- what hezbollah will do. i want to ick what hezbollah will do. i want to pick uo _ what hezbollah will do. i want to pick up on _ what hezbollah will do. i want to pick up on one _ what hezbollah will do. i want to pick up on one foot - what hezbollah will do. i want to pick up on one foot you - to pick up on one foot you mentioned. crucially, he pointed out that hezbollah as an organisation is intertwined with the fabric of the country, with the fabric of the country, with governance, politics there. give us a sense of how hassan nasrallah was viewed by the political establishment there and also ordinary people on the streets.—

on the streets. that has been one key question _ on the streets. that has been one key question in _ on the streets. that has been one key question in 11 - on the streets. that has been l one key question in 11 nonsense the start of these attacks a year ago, the start of these attacks a yearago, because the start of these attacks a year ago, because a lot of people outside hezbollah's base of support because many were saying they were dragging lebanon into a war with israel and this country has been suffering for years from an severe economic crisis and people say this conflict was not in lebanon's interests. going to dahieh, to some of hezbollah's areas, we saw people remained defiant and said that those attacks would not destroy their determination to resist, but they still supported hezbollah, hassan nasrallah, but obviously outside hezbollah's support base, there were some people uncomfortable with the idea of them having a strong hezbollah

acting as a state within the state and being able to determine when lebanon was at peace are at war. i think that many across the country are shocked by the level of destruction, by the impact on the civilian population because of these israeli air strikes, but for some people, they will not be extremely upset or sad to see a weakened hezbollah, and perhaps this could mark a change in the relationship between lebanon and hezbollah. 0ur correspondentjon donnison is injerusalem — he gave me the latest. the israeli military has confirmed that hassan nasrallah has been eliminated, to use their time, has been eliminated, to use theirtime, and it is has been eliminated, to use their time, and it is a hugely significant and dangerous moment. israel has vowed to

defeat hezbollah, it is in effect now at war with hezbollah and taking out its leader, who has been in charge of the powerful uranium back militia group in lebanon for decades. —— iranians back militia group. up until this point, israel has made calibration that iran, who backs, funds and founded hezbollah is not ready to get directly involved in a full—scale war with israel. but the killing of hassan nasrallah is going to put that theory to the test. all morning we have had barrages of rockets being fired out of southern lebanon and just after the moment when the confirmation from israel's side saying that hassan nasrallah has been killed, we heard explosions pretty close to where we are here in jerusalem just in the skyline here behind me, we saw what looked like a hezbollah rockets being shot down by israel's

missile defence system, something we have not seen in jerusalem in the last few weeks. it does seem that hezbollah is pushing forward now, launching rockets further into israel. whether that is in direct response to what israel has said about the killing of hassan nasrallah, we do not know, but certainly the next few hours and days are going to be very concerning.— be very concerning. thanks to john for that. _ earlier i spoke to ettie higgins, deputy representative of unicef lebanon. she told me what the situation is like on the ground in lebanon at the moment — after the israeli strikes in the country. the damage has been immense and as i was waiting for this interview to start, i got a message from one of our colleagues in one of our humanitarian front line areas and said that the situation is hysterical there this morning because so many have been killed, including the parents of one of their humanitarian

staff. and others as well. here in beirut, i havejust been speaking to my other un colleagues who are out on the ground together with unicef teams, who have seen thousands of displaced all over the streets over beirut. they are desperately needing assistance. humanitarian community and united nations community is pulling together to try to support the government in efforts to urgently find accommodation for the thousands of people that evacuated their homes in the southern suburbs and other parts of beirut last night to try to find safety. can i ask what that means? what are provisions? we know people are provisions? we know people are on the move, have been sleeping in their cars to get away from the areas being hit. what about those more serious cases, people who have been in

hits, families that have been separated, what is the support they need? we separated, what is the support they need?— they need? we are finding an increasing — they need? we are finding an increasing number— they need? we are finding an increasing number of - increasing number of unaccompanied and separated children and the un team has identified one child who lost 15 members of a family and we are desperately looking for relatives that can take care of her while we put her in an emergency care system. but today, people need absolutely everything from drinking water to mattresses, blankets, we are mobilising teams to provide first aid, there are over 500 shelters now across, over 700 shelters, sorry, across lebanon, over100 in lebanon but more opening every hour. more than 100,000 people are seeking shelter and the resources are running out by the minute. wejust cannot resources are running out by the minute. we just cannot keep up the minute. we just cannot keep up with the level of need.

hospitals have