Netanyahu rides wave of support as Israelis hail killing of Hezbollah chief
Israel’s Likud party shows slow recovery in the polls, as some 43 per cent rate Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza as ‘good’
For Israel, the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has been a moment to savour, lifting the spirits of a nation still grappling with the trauma of the October 7 Hamas attack and a year of war, and boosting once-embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
After Nasrallah’s death in an Israeli air strike in Beirut was confirmed on Saturday, Netanyahu delivered a televised statement, saying the assassination was a “turning point” in the war.
“One year later, blow after blow … their hopes have been dashed. Israel has momentum, we are winning,” he said.
On Tuesday, the military announced that after weeks of intensifying air strikes, commandos had crossed into Lebanon to conduct targeted raids in areas close to the border. Hours later, it confirmed that special forces units had been operating in Lebanon for months.
A survey for the Israel Democracy Institute published on Tuesday found that 80 per cent of Israelis, including 90 per cent of Jewish Israelis, supported the decision to start the offensive against Hezbollah even while the war was continuing in Gaza.
