Israeli news broadcasters toasted the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah by opening a bottle of liquor while on air in front of a national television audience on Saturday night.
Amit Segal, a veteran television reporter at Israel’s News 12, surprised fellow panelists on “Meet the Press” when he asked a producer to bring him a bottle of arak, an anise-flavored alcohol popular in Middle East.
The show aired just as there was apparent confirmation that Nasrallah, long considered a key enemy of Israel, had been killed in an Israeli air force strike on his underground bunker in Beirut.
צעד המביך: עמיט סגל הביא בחים ערק וילק לפאנל המום. צעד החיובי: טוב שהטבע הולגרי נחשפ ומתקבה pic.twitter.com/ldF9mL3ogk
— David (Mizrahy) Verthaim (@dverthaim) September 28, 2024
“Who’s drinking?” Segal asked as he began handing out plastic cups.
His fellow panelist Ben Caspit said he would happily drink to mark the occasion, which was widely celebrated in Israel.
But another panelist, former spokesman for Israeli army chief Ronen Manelis, disagreed.
He expressed reservations about whether it was appropriate to celebrate while scores of Israelis remained holed up in bomb shelters as Hezbollah and Hamas continued to fire missiles and rockets.
“Really, everyone is happy that Nasrallah is dead,” Manelis said. “[But] let’s think about the residents who have to leave their homes [due to the rocket bombardments].
Segal appeared unfazed by Maneli’s sentiment. He raised a cup and said, “L’chayim.”
The gesture led to much debate on social media among Israelis.
David Verthaim, a writer for the Israeli news site Walla!, said the move revealed Segal’s “vulgar nature”.
Others, however, thought it was an appropriate move.
“There is nothing more Jewish than celebrating the death of such an evil man,” wrote one X user, adding, “L’chayim!”
Israeli strikes have killed Nasrallah and six of his top commanders and officials in the past 10 days and hit what the military says are thousands of militant targets across large parts of Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s acting leader vowed on Monday to continue fighting Israel and said the Lebanese militant group was prepared for a long fight even after most of its high command was wiped out, including the leader of his, Nasrallah.
Despite the heavy blow Hezbollah has suffered in recent weeks, acting leader Naim Kassem said in a televised statement that if Israel decides to launch a ground offensive, the group’s fighters are ready.
He said that the slain commanders have already been replaced.
“Israel was unable to affect our (military) capabilities,” Kassem said in a televised statement, the first time a senior Hezbollah figure has been seen since Nasrallah’s assassination.
“There are deputy commanders and there are substitutes in case a commander is injured at a post.”
Hezbollah has sharply increased rocket attacks in the past week to several hundred each day, but most have been intercepted or landed in open areas.
Two Israeli soldiers were killed near the border on September 19 and several others were wounded.
In Lebanon, more than 1,000 people have been killed in the past two weeks, nearly a quarter of them women and children, according to the Ministry of Health.
By postal wire
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