Turkey says Hezbollah's Nasrallah will be hard to replace

Turkey's foreign minister stated that Hezbollah leader Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut a day earlier, was a significant figure for both Lebanon and the wider region, emphasizing that it would be difficult to find a replacement for him.

Sunday September 29 2024 02:15 am

Duvar English

Turkey's foreign minister said on Sept. 28 that Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah was an important figure for Lebanon and the region and would be hard to replace after he was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut a day earlier.

Speaking to state broadcaster TRT Haber in New York, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also said Turkey believed Israel would not stop in Lebanon and would spread the war in Gaza to the wider region.

He said the "helplesness" of the United States and other Western countries was allowing the violence to continue.

"Nasrallah was a significant figure in the region and particularly important for Lebanon. I honestly believe that his absence will be difficult to fill. His death is a great loss for both Hezbollah and Iran. I had the opportunity to meet with him in Lebanon just ten days after the war began. At that time, my impression was that Hezbollah would not fully engage in the conflict. If you notice, not much happened over the following year. There were mutual missile strikes and some casualties, but no major front opened up. However, now we see that Israel has shifted its focus to Lebanon after achieving its goals in Gaza. What will be its next target? We have some predictions about that, but for now, let's keep those to ourselves," Fidan said in his interview.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also condemned Israel's recent attacks in Lebanon as part of what he called an Israeli policy of "genocide, occupation, and invasion", urging the United Nations Security Council and other bodies to stop Israel.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group said on Sept. 28 its leader Nasrallah has been killed, confirming his death after the Israeli military said it had "eliminated" him in an airstrike in Beirut the day before.

In a post on X without naming Nasrallah, Erdoğan said that Turkey stood with the Lebanese people and government, offering his condolences for those killed in the Israeli strikes, while saying the Muslim world should show a more "determined" stance.

İsrail’in, 7 Ekim’den bu yana sürdürdüğü soykırım, işgal ve istila politikasının yeni hedefinde Lübnan ve Lübnan halkı vardır.

İsrail’in vahşi saldırıları sonucunda son bir hafta içerisinde aralarında çocukların da olduğu çok sayıda Lübnanlı katledilmiştir.

Vicdan sahibi hiç…
— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) September 28, 2024

A total of 1,052 people, including 104 children and 194 women, have been killed in Lebanon since Sept. 17, when Hezbollah communications equipment was detonated in an Israeli attack.

Israel has killed at least 42,252 Palestinians in its military campaign targeting particularly civilian settlements.