Netanyahu calls Nasrallah’s killing ‘necessary,’ says region at ‘historic turning point’ after Israeli airstrike slays terror chief

Israel has wiped out longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah — a major blow to the terror group and a move that sent shockwaves through the Middle East.

Nasrallah, 64, was at the center of what Israeli officials described to The Post as Iran’s “Axis of Resistance,” and was responsible for what President Biden called a “four-decade reign of terror.” 

Hezbollah confirmed Nasrallah’s death Saturday, hours after Israel slammed Beirut with powerful airstrikes — but the group did not acknowledge how its leader was killed.

Nasrallah was “the main engine of Iran’s axis of evil,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a televised statement Saturday. 

Nasrallah’s death was a “historic turning point” that could change the balance of power in the Middle East, with Netanyahu calling the killing a necessary decision.

“Nasrallah was not just another terrorist, he was the terrorist,” Netanyahu said, adding that airstrikes to reduce Hezbollah’s capability to fight back were not enough.

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

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

The assassination was also intended to send a message to Hamas — including Yahya Sinwar, considered the mastermind behind the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

“The more that Sinwar sees that Nasrallah will not be coming to his rescue, the greater are the chances for returning our hostages,” Netanyahu said.

The assassination showed Israel’s strength — and its long reach, the prime minister said. 

“Nasrallah spoke about us as ‘spider webs.’ But instead of ‘spider webs’, he found the tendons of steel of a united and mighty nation that is determined to ensure its existence and its future,” Netanyahu continued.

“Not only has Hezbollah discovered this. The entire Middle East has discovered this… There is no place in Iran or the Middle East that the long arm of Israel cannot reach. Today, you already know that this is correct.”

He also pledged to stand with those “fighting under the violent dictatorship of Iran and its proxies in Lebanon, Syria, Iran itself and other places.”

Netanyahu’s speech came as word of Nasrallah’s death reverberated through the region, including the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib, where people were seen dancing in the streets and fireworks exploded at the news, The Telegraph reported. 

Nasrallah was a staunch ally of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. 

Nasrallah, 64, was in a bunker beneath the terror group’s main headquarters when Israeli warplanes “leveled six buildings” in a targeted attack that also took out several other Hezbollah higher-ups, the IDF said.

Israel tracked Nasrallah for months, and was aware of his whereabouts for some time, three senior Israeli officials told The New York Times.

The IDF decided to move on the terror leader this week because they believed that only had a small window of opportunity to do so, the officials explained.

The IDF said it also neutralized Muhammad Ali Ismail — the commander of Hezbollah’s missile unit in southern Lebanon — as well as his deputy, Hussein Ahmad Ismail, and other “commanders and operatives” who attended the meeting.

In other developments: on Saturday, Iranian media reported that Iran Revolutionary Guard deputy commander Abbas Nilforoushan was also killed in the Beirut strikes.

The Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut were a legitimate military target under international law, IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said.

“To our enemies, I say: we are strong and determined. To our partners, I would say: our war, is your war,” Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement Saturday.

“And to the people of Lebanon, I say: our war is not with you. It’s time for change.”n  Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said in a video statement released Saturday that Israel was determined to “destroy” Hezbollah.

Nasrallah’s death would only strengthen its own resistance against Israel, Hamas declared Saturday.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged the Muslim world to “confront” the “wicked” Israeli regime.

Nasrallah’s death was “a measure of justice” for his victims, President Biden said, adding the US “fully supports” Israel.

“Hassan Nasrallah and the terrorist group he led, Hezbollah, were responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade reign of terror,” Biden, 81, said in a statement released by the White House Saturday afternoon.

“His death from an Israeli airstrike is a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians.”

This latest strike on Beirut came after Israel killed three senior Hezbollah military commanders earlier in the week. Those strikes reportedly killed more than 700 soldiers and civilians.

Nasrallah was a founding member of the Iranian-backed militant group and served as its sole leader since 1992, when his predecessor and co-founder Abbas al-Musawi was also killed by an Israeli airstrike.

The IDF warned “Hezbollah has over 150,000 rockets, meant to kill Israeli civilians,” in a post on X after the attack.

“Some [rockets] are strategically placed beneath civilian populations. We have called on Lebanese civilians in specific buildings in the Dahiya neighborhood to move away from areas being used by Hezbollah.”

The targeting of Nasrallah Friday was followed by another series of bombings in the Beirut area on Saturday.

On Saturday afternoon, the IDF claimed that it had killed Hezbollah official Hassan Khalil Yassin in a strike in Dahieh, NBC News reported.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “gravely concerned” by the “dramatic escalation” in Lebanon following Nasrallah’s death.

With Post wires