Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has described the targeted killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah as a settling of accounts with an “arch-murderer.”

“Nasrallah was not just another terrorist, he was the terrorist,” Mr Netanyahu told members of the media in Tel Aviv.

It was his first public statement since the Israeli military killed the Lebanese Shiite militia leader in Beirut on Friday.

Mr Netanyahu stated that Nasrallah was a kind of turbocharger for the Axis of Evil created by Iran.

He alleged that the Hezbollah leader was guilty of the murder of countless Israelis, hundreds of U.S. citizens and dozens of French nationals.

“As long as Nasrallah was alive, he would have quickly rebuilt the capabilities we took from Hezbollah,” he said.

“Therefore, I gave the directive – and Nasrallah is no longer with us,” the Israeli prime minister added.

Mr Netanyahu said the killing of Nasrallah was also a step forward in the goal of enabling tens of thousands of Israelis to return to the north of the country.

They had been forced to leave their homes because Hezbollah has been bombarding the area with rockets, grenades, and drones since the start of the Gaza conflict nearly a year ago.

Hezbollah claims to be acting in solidarity with the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip.

Mr Netanyahu also warned Iran against an attack on Israel.

“And to the ayatollahs’ regime I say: Those who strike us, we strike them,” Mr Netanyahu said, referring to the leadership in Tehran.

“There is no place in Iran or the Middle East that the long arm of Israel cannot reach,” he warned.

Iran, under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is considered the protector and the most important ally of the Shiite Hezbollah militia.

After Nasrallah’s killing, Khamenei ordered five days of national mourning.

Among the victims of Friday’s airstrike was also Iranian Brig.-Gen. Abbas Nilforoushan, the deputy commander for operations of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

However, it is far from clear whether Iran will rush to help Hezbollah.

The new Iranian government led by President Masoud Pezeshkian is grappling with a severe economic crisis and is seeking a rapprochement with the West.

Although Iran’s military leadership had announced retaliation after the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran at the end of July, this has yet to materialise.

(dpa/NAN)