Mark Kelly: IDF sent ‘powerful message’ to Hezbollah with death of leader

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) sent the Iranian-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah a “powerful message” with the death of its leader.

“Well, I think the IDF sent a powerful message to Hezbollah,” Kelly said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Kelly followed an appearance from Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who shared a similar sentiment about the death of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. The IDF confirmed it had killed Nasrallah and another top Hezbollah leader in airstrikes over the weekend, as fears of the conflict escalating into an all-out war continue.

The Arizona senator said he agreed with Rubio that Israel needs to regain control of the northern part of its country and allow civilians to return home.

“This has been a really challenging situation that they’ve been faced with and they’ve got [to], you know, do something about it,” Kelly said of Israel’s retaliation.

He continued, noting that “it’s good” Nasrallah is dead because “he’s a terrorist” who has killed many people. The increased tension in the region has caused concern that Iran might strike back against Israel, nearly a year after the Israel-Hamas war began in Gaza.

Iran is already involved in the conflict through their proxies, Kelly said, and the IDF’s actions this weekend against Hezbollah have sent a message.

“So, I think the message has been sent,” he said. “My hope is that there is not further conflict in the northern part of Israel.”