(Reuters) -Following are responses by local political leaders and others to the murder of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday:
IRAN’S INTERNATIONAL MINISTRY
The ministry claimed in a declaration that Nasrallah’s “path will continue and his goal will be realised in Jerusalem’s liberation”.
PALESTINIAN HEAD OF STATE MAHMOUD ABBAS
Abbas used his acknowledgements to Lebanon and Hezbollah, the authorities Palestinian information company WAFA claimed. “The President extended his heartfelt sympathies to the Lebanese government and the brotherly people of Lebanon over the civilian casualties resulting from the ongoing Israeli aggression,” WAFA claimed.
YEMEN’S IRAN-ALIGNED HOUTHIS
The team claimed it grieved the murder of Nasrallah, including: “The martyrdom … will increase the strength of sacrifice … determination and continuity.”
MOHAMMED SHIA AL-SUDANI, IRAQ’S HEAD OF STATE
He claimed the murder of Nasrallah revealed “the reckless desire to expand the conflict at the expense of all the peoples of the region and their security and stability”.
HERZI HALEVI, ISRAEL’S PRIMARY OF THE BASIC PERSONNEL
“Nasrallah indiscriminately murdered Israeli civilians and aimed to end this war with the destruction of the State of Israel. We made sure that did not occur. We eliminated him, and we will continue to grow stronger. Hezbollah has murdered innocent people worldwide, hiding his weapons under the homes of families, women and children and turning them into human shields. As we have shown, we will not allow such a threat to our citizens. We are determined to continue destroying the Hezbollah terrorist organization and to keep fighting.”
MOQTADA EL SADR, IRAQI SHI’ITE MUSLIM POLITICAL LEADER
He claimed he grieved Nasrallah as “his companion in resistance”.
GEBRAN BASSIL, LEADING LEBANESE CHRISTIAN POLITICAL LEADER
He claimed he grieved the fatality of Nasrallah as a significant loss and claimed it was a difficult time for all Lebanese, including: “In the face of the Israeli enemy, we have no choice but to be together as Lebanese.”
MICHEL AOUN, PREVIOUS LEBANESE HEAD OF STATE
In a declaration grieving Nasrallah, he described “the dangers our country is witnessing as a result of the ongoing Israeli aggression which requires rising to the highest level of national solidarity that protects and fortifies our unity because that is the true salvation”.
SAAD AL-HARIRI, PREVIOUS LEBANESE HEAD OF STATE
“The assassination of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah has plunged Lebanon and the region into a new phase of violence. It is a cowardly act condemned in its entirety by us, who paid dearly for the lives of our loved ones when assassination became an alternative to politics. May God have mercy on Sayyed Hassan and my sincere condolences to his family and comrades. We often disagreed with the deceased and his party and met a few times, but Lebanon was everyone’s tent. In this extremely difficult phase, our unity and solidarity remain the foundation.”
TURKISH HEAD OF STATE TAYYIP ERDOGAN
In a message on X after the murder of Nasrallah however which did not call him, Erdogan claimed he condemned current strikes in Lebanon as component of what he called an Israeli plan of “genocide, occupation, and invasion” and claimed the Muslim globe must reveal an extra “determined” position.
(Editing by Edmund Blair and Helen Popper)
