Israel defense minister holding talks on possible expansion of offensive

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was holding talks late on Saturday on possibly expanding Israel’s military offensive on its northern front, his office said in a statement.

“Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant is currently conducting an operational situation assessment regarding the expansion of [the Israeli army’s] activities in the northern arena,” his office said.

Israel killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in a powerful airstrike in Beirut, dealing a heavy blow to the Iran-backed group as it reels from an escalating campaign of Israeli attacks.

The Israeli military said on Saturday it had eliminated Nasrallah in the strike on the group’s central command headquarters in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Friday. Hezbollah confirmed he had been killed, without saying how.