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Israeli newscasters toasted the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah by cracking open a bottle of liquor while on the air before a national television audience on Saturday evening.
Amit Segal, a veteran television journalist with Israel’s News 12, stunned fellow panelists on the show “Meet the Press” when he asked a producer to fetch him a bottle of arak, an anise-flavored alcohol popular in Middle Eastern countries.
The show went on the air just as there was apparent confirmation that Nasrallah, long considered an archenemy of Israel, had been killed in an Israeli air force strike on his underground bunker in Beirut.
“Who’s drinking?” Segal asked as he began distributing plastic cups.
His fellow panelist Ben Caspit said he would gladly drink to mark the occasion, which was widely celebrated in Israel.
But another panelist, former Israeli military chief spokesperson Ronen Manelis, demurred.
He expressed reservations about whether it was appropriate to celebrate while a large number of Israelis remained confined to bomb shelters as Hezbollah and Hamas continued firing rockets and missiles.
“Really, everyone is happy that Nasrallah is dead,” Manelis said. “[But] let’s think about the residents who had to flee their homes [due to the rocket bombardments].”
Segal appeared unbothered by Manelis’ 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 fitting.
“There’s nothing more Jewish than to celebrate the death of such an evil man,” wrote an X user, adding: “L’chayim!”
Israeli strikes have killed Nasrallah and six of his top commanders and officials in the last 10 days, and have hit what the military says are thousands of militant targets across large parts of Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s acting leader vowed Monday to keep battling Israel and said the Lebanese militant group was prepared for a long fight even after much of its top command was wiped out, including its leader, 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 the commanders killed have already been replaced.
“Israel was not able to affect our (military) capabilities,” Kassem said in a televised statement, the first time any senior Hezbollah figure has been seen since Nasrallah was killed.
“There are deputy commanders and there are replacements in case a commander is wounded in any post.”
Hezbollah has significantly increased its rocket attacks in the past week to several hundred daily, but most have been intercepted or fallen in open areas.
Two Israeli soldiers were killed near the border on Sept. 19 and several others have been wounded.
In Lebanon, over 1,000 people have been killed in the past two weeks, nearly a quarter of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry.
With Post wires
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