[TEL AVIV = Takao Sato]The Israeli military has confirmed the killing of Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon’s pro-Iranian militia Hezbollah, raising the possibility that pro-Iranian forces across the Middle East will retaliate against Israel. It has become even more difficult to achieve a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah mediated by the United States and France.

Nasrallah succeeded Hezbollah’s then-leader Moussawi in 1992, at the age of 32, after he was assassinated by the Israeli military. He led a militia organization that was said to have better combat capabilities than the Lebanese army, and gained attention by thoroughly criticizing the United States and Israel with his fiery speech style, and was known as one of the best leaders in the Middle East.

In the summer of 2006, under Nasrallah’s leadership, Hezbollah engaged in fierce battles with the Israeli military, resulting in more than 1,200 deaths on both sides. When fighting began in the Palestinian autonomous region of Gaza in October last year, the country supported the Islamic fundamentalist group Hamas and engaged the Israeli army in battle.

In response, the Israeli military has targeted and killed senior Hezbollah commanders one after another since July of this year.

This time, Hezbollah’s poor internal information management was exposed by the murder of Nasrallah, who had been so wary of assassination that he did not appear in public and even pre-recorded his speeches. There is no doubt that the organization suffered a devastating blow.

However, it is certain that Hezbollah will continue its anti-American and anti-Israel armed struggle in coordination with Iran and other countries. Israeli media reported that Hashem Safieddin, who heads Hezbollah’s political wing and is considered his successor, survived the airstrike on Hezbollah’s headquarters. Hezbollah is expected to rebuild its organization and step up attacks against Israel.