Jerusalem: The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Saturday a ban on gatherings of more than 1,000 people in central Israel. The IDF's Home Front Command tightened its directives on gatherings following the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon's Beirut on Friday.

"We are taking all necessary precautions to keep the Israeli residents safe," said IDF spokesman Daniel Hagari. "Challenging days ahead, we have more tasks to complete," he said. "First of all return our abductees who Hamas brutally holds in Gaza, and return the residents in the north and south to their homes safely."

Following the tightened directives, the Israeli Premier League's Saturday and Sunday football matches will be held behind closed doors in central Israel, Xinhua news agency reported.

On Friday evening, Israel launched airstrikes on Hezbollah's main headquarters in Dahieh, Beirut's southern suburbs, which, according to a statement by the Israel Defense Forces earlier on Saturday, killed Nasrallah and some other commanders of the armed group.

Hezbollah just confirmed the death of Nasrallah. Israel has intensified its airstrikes across Lebanon since Monday, marking the most extensive Israeli military action in the country since 2006.

This marks the latest escalation of the ongoing clashes that began on Oct. 8, 2023, when Hezbollah started launching rockets at Israel in solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, prompting Israel's retaliatory artillery fire and airstrikes in southeastern Lebanon. (IANS)