Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters during a public appearance at a religious procession in Beirut. File / Reuters

"Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Secretary General of Hizbollah, has joined his great, immortal martyr comrades whom he led for about 30 years," Hizbollah said in a statement.

The statement confirmed he was killed with other group members "following the treacherous Zionist strike on the southern suburbs" of Beirut. The statement said Nasrallah "has joined his fellow martyrs.” Hizbollah vowed to "continue the holy war against the enemy and in support of Palestine.”

In central Beirut, AFP journalists heard a passerby screaming, "Oh my God," while women wept in the streets right after Hizbollah announced the news.

Hizbollah's Al Manar TV started airing the Holy Quran verses after the announcement of Nasrallah's death. On the other hand, the Palestinian group Hamas said in a statement it mourned the death of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Israeli jets pounded Beirut's south and its outskirts throughout the night into Saturday in the most intense attacks on the Hizbollah stronghold since the group and Israel last went to war in 2006.

Israeli jets pounded Beirut's south and its outskirts throughout the night into Saturday in the most intense attacks on the Hizbollah stronghold since the group and Israel last went to war in 2006.

Nasrallah, who led Hizbollah for more than three decades, is by far the most powerful target to be killed by Israel in weeks of intensified fighting with Hizbollah. The Israeli military said it carried out a precise airstrike on Friday night while Hizbollah leadership met at their headquarters in Dahiyeh, south of Beirut.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said six people were killed and 91 injured in the Beirut strikes late on Friday, which leveled six apartment buildings. Ali Karki, the commander of Hizbollah’s Southern Front, and additional Hizbollah commanders were also killed in the attack, the Israeli military said.

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, an army spokesperson, said the airstrike was based on years of tracking Nasrallah along with "real time information” that made it viable.

Shoshani declined to say what munitions were used in the strike or provide an estimate on civilian deaths, only saying that Israel takes measures to avoid civilians whenever possible and clears strikes ahead of time with intelligence and legal experts.

The Palestinian group Hamas in a statement issued condolences to its ally, Hizbollah. Nasrallah frequently described launching rockets against northern Israel as a "support front” for Hamas and Palestinians in Gaza.

"History has proven that the resistance... whenever its leaders die as martyrs, will be succeeded on the same path by a generation of leaders who are more valiant, stronger and more determined to continue the confrontation,” the Hamas statement said.

It added that "assassinations will only increase the resistance in Lebanon and Palestine in determination and resolve.”

Agencies