Israeli Airstrike Kills Hezbollah Commander in Lebanon
A senior Hezbollah commander has been killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon.
An Israeli airstrike killed a key Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon on Monday, the latest sign of a possibly widening conflict in the Middle East.
A Lebanese security official said the attack on an SUV killed a commander in a secretive Hezbollah force that operates along the border with Israel. Hezbollah identified the commander as Wissam al-Tawil, with one security official saying he "had a leading role in managing Hezbollah's operations in the south."
Israel said it military hit Hezbollah targets on Monday but did not comment on Tawi’s death.
Tawil is the most senior Hezbollah militant killed since Hamas' shock October 7 attack into southern Israel triggered all-out war in Gaza and sporadic fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, which has escalated since a strike attributed to Israel killed a senior Hamas leader in Beirut last week.
Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri was the most high-profile Hamas figure to die during the war, in the first attack on Beirut since the fighting began.
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel last Friday that his fighters would respond swiftly to Arouri's killing. The group claimed an attack on an Israeli air control base the next day.
During the cross-border fighting over the last three months, more than 180 people in Lebanon, including over 135 Hezbollah fighters, have been killed, but also more than 20 civilians including three journalists have died, according to a tally by the French news agency, Agence France-Presse.
In northern Israel, nine soldiers and at least four civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities.
The attack in Lebanon came as Israel says it has largely wrapped up major operations in northern Gaza against Hamas militants and is now focusing on the central region and the southern city of Khan Younis.
Israeli officials have said the fighting will continue for many more months as the army seeks to erase Hamas’ control of the Gaza Strip, ending the threat the militant group poses to Israel and freeing what is believed to be 129 hostages still held by Hamas.
Reuters
