Good evening. I'm John Yang. We're following two big stories tonight, the rising

exchange of rockets and bombs between Israel and Hezbollah and the rising death toll

from Hurricane Helene. We begin in the Middle East where Israel's assassination of

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrala is reverberating across the region, raising fears

of retaliation from Iran and a wider war. Tonight Nick Schifran is in Tel Aviv.

This evening, southern Beirut is still smoldering.

After what residents called the most intense bombing in nearly 20 years on a cluster of high

rises and the bunker beneath them, killing Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah's leader for the last three decades.

The group confirmed his death on its TV channel.

After the Israel Defense Forces posted on social media,

Hassan Nasrallah will no longer be able to terrorize the world.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

At the start of the week, I came to the conclusion that the intense blows the Israeli military struck Hezbollah within the past days

These blows will not be enough

Nasrala's assassination was an essential condition to achieving the goals we set.

Nasrallah was Hezbollah's commander and communicator in chief.

His charisma made him powerful in Lebanon and one of the Middle East most influential figures.

He inspired Shia followers with fiery speeches,

and the sacrifice of his own son fighting Israel.

Even if for years he has only spoken remotely.

For Iran, Hezbollah became its key proxy, and Nasrala anchored its axis of resistance, a close

confidant of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei. In Tehran today, today the regime's supporters vowed revenge.

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