Hezbollah confirmed on Saturday that its secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in the Israeli air strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs.
Tehran also confirmed media reports that the IRGC's top regional commander, Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan, was killed in Lebanon in the Israeli air raid.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said in a statement that Tehran-backed proxies stand with Hezbollah, and that they will deal more crushing blows on Israel.
Iran declared five days of national mourning for Nasrallah's assassination. Lebanon, Iraq and Syria will also observe three days of national mourning.
Khamenei has been moved to a secure location, according to a report by Reuters.
The IDF spokesperson says Israel is prepared for a broader escalation. The Israeli prime minister also warned that his country's work is not complete, and that there is no place in Iran which Israel cannot reach.
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Iran's Cybersecurity Strategic Management Center has announced a state of cyber-readiness, issuing a red alert for financial, monetary, and communication sectors, and an orange alert for other sectors, according to Iranian media reports.
"Organizations are advised to maintain round-the-clock availability of technical teams and rapid response units due to the potential for cyber attacks," it said.
"Any suspicious cyber incidents should be reported immediately to the center. Services that do not require international access should be provided under internal access (Iran Access). Additionally, organizations must coordinate with the center before any disruptions to electronic services due to maintenance or updates. This alert aims to prevent and counter potential cyber threats."
Morteza Kazemian, an Iranian commentator, told Iran International that Nasrallah’s death marks a new era for the Islamic Republic, where it must either “abandon its ambitions or adopt a pragmatic stance regarding Israel."
The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iran-backed militants, says it has launched multiple drone attacks against Eilat in southern Israel.
US President Joe Biden held a call on Saturday with VP Kamala Harris and his national security team on the developments in the Middle East, the White House said.
“President Biden convened a call with Vice President Harris and their national security team to receive an update on the situation in the Middle East, review the status of US military force posture in the region, and direct continued diplomatic efforts to coordinate with allies and partners and deescalate the ongoing conflicts. The President and Vice President will continue to receive regular updates,” the White House added.
The Lebanese Health Ministry announced that 783 people have been killed and 2,312 others injured as a result of Israeli attacks since Monday. That includes 33 fatalities on Saturday.
The number of victims since Monday accounts for nearly half of the 1,640 people killed in Lebanon since October 8, according to Health Ministry figures.
Lebanon's Hezbollah joined the Hamas' war against Israel on October 8, one day after the Palestinian group's coordinated attacks in southern Israel.
The Israeli military targeted Nasrallah because “he was building such a huge arsenal of weapons” including 200,000 rockets, missiles and drones for the sole purpose of going “to war with Israel," IDF spokesman Peter Lerner told CNN.
He added that the primary goal of the Israeli military with regard to Hezbollah is to restore safety and security in northern Israel so that the 60,000 Israelis who have evacuated the area can return home.
Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Saturday criticized Israel for what he called a “catastrophic” military escalation against Lebanon.
“We hold Israel fully responsible for the catastrophic consequences of its aggression on Lebanon, which it is launching brutally without any legal or humanitarian deterrent, while it continues its aggression on Gaza and its dangerous escalation in the West Bank,” Safadi said on X.
He also condemned Israel’s actions as a violation of Lebanese sovereignty and stressed that the bombing of its capital and the loss of civilian lives threatened the country’s stability.
The US is ready to implement the contingency plans it has put in place to "confront any Iranian threat against its bases in the region," Sky News Arabia reported citing an American military official.
The Israeli military has targeted a car in al-Qusayr area near the Syrian-Lebanese border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported late Saturday, without giving more details.