Israel-Gaza-Lebanon updates: Nasrallah killed for tying Hezbollah cause to Gaza war

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday.

Last Updated: September 29, 2024, 2:21 PM EDT

Israel is firing strikes into Lebanon as the conflict in the Middle East intensifies.

Israel believes it has eliminated around 30 top Hezbollah leaders over the last several weeks, including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Friday, U.S. and Israeli officials said.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing.
Sep 28, 2024, 1:09 PM EDT

Hezbollah command, control in complete disarray after Nasrallah killing: US official

Hezbollah's command and control is in complete disarray after the killing of their Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike on Friday, according to a senior U.S. official.

The U.S. and Israel believe they have eliminated around 30 Hezbollah leaders over the last several weeks weakening the group, the official said. There is deep skepticism and worry among the remaining Hezbollah leaders that there are spies in their ranks, according to the official.

The group's means of communication has also been dramatically disrupted after Israel blew up pagers and walkie-talkies that Hezbollah had used to communicate.

-ABC News' Martha Raddatz

Sep 28, 2024, 1:09 PM EDT

Israel preparing for limited ground incursion into Lebanon: US official

Israel is preparing for a limited ground incursion into Lebanon, even after it killed around 30 top leaders within Hezbollah in recent weeks.

Israel has rejected a cease-fire proposal -- even a limited one -- in Lebanon, now bombing sites where there are suspected longer range missiles, according to a senior U.S. official. Israel is not listening to the Biden administration despite its repeated calls for a diplomatic solution.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an Israeli strike on a residential building in Beirut on Friday.

-ABC News' Martha Raddatz

Sep 27, 2024, 6:44 PM EDT

Bomb used by Israelis in Beirut likely came from the US

The bomb used by Israel in Beirut on Friday very likely came from the U.S. as part of a larger military assistance program that’s been in place for decades.

The IDF described the bomb as a "bunker buster," a reference to the BLU-109 which was designed and manufactured to penetrate hardened underground bunkers.

The U.S. has used these massive 2,000-pound bombs before, typically in remote areas of countries like Afghanistan as a way to destroy enemy tunnels and underground command centers.

Use of the bunker-buster bombs in urban areas dramatically increases the risk of civilian casualties because it can turn entire neighborhoods into craters.

In May, President Joe Biden withheld a single shipment of 1,800 of these weapons to Israel out of concern Israel would use the bombs in Rafah, a highly populated area in Gaza where civilians were sheltering.

Officials say those bombs remain on hold, although Israel would likely have enough in stock for that single shipment not to make a significant tactical difference in its ongoing operations in Gaza and Lebanon.

-ABC News' Anne Flaherty

Sep 27, 2024, 5:48 PM EDT

IDF launches new strike on Beirut

Israel Defense Force announced another strike in Beirut Friday evening.

The IDF claimed it's targeting "weapons belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization that were stored beneath civilian buildings in the area of Dahieh in Beirut."

-ABC News' Will Gretsky