Saturday, 21 December

Hezbollah confirms death of leader Hassan Nasrallah

World News
Hassan Nasrallah

BBC Verify has been analysing footage of yesterday evening's strikes which are now known to have killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

The sheer scale of the explosions ensured that there were numerous videos shot from multiple vantage points. These allowed us to triangulate the precise location.

One early clip, filmed from the runway of Beirut airport, showed several plumes of smoke rising from a distant location due north. While we could not confirm a precise location at such a distance, the footage confirmed that the strikes had taken place in a similar area to other Israeli strikes on southern Beirut over the previous week.

Another striking clip, filmed through a window, showed numerous explosions at much closer proximity.

Visible solar panels and the shape of nearby rooves were compared with publicly available satellite imagery to get a better sense of the location. The footage also confirmed that there were multiple strikes – which is vital information for assessing the extent of damage.

As the evening wore on, footage from the ground showed at least two buildings had collapsed close to a main road called Burj el-Brajne. There are reports that a number of other buildings were also destroyed, which we are seeking to confirm.

We also await fresh satellite imagery of the area which will give a much fuller assessment of the extent of the strikes.

 

Source: BBC