IDF ‘has killed’ more than half of Hezbollah’s commanders in southern Lebanon
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The Israeli military has claimed it has assassinated more than half of all Hezbollah commanders in southern Lebanon.
It comes amid the largest barrage of Israeli rockets targeting the Iranian-backed terror group in weeks, with fighter jets and artillery on Wednesday carrying out strikes on some 40 targets within several minutes near the border.
The village of Ayta al-Shab was home to dozens of military sites including weapon depots and other unnamed assets being used by Hezbollah for “terror”, according to the Israeli army.
The bombardment was “part of the efforts to destroy the organisation’s infrastructure in the border area”, the IDF added.
Roads were closed on the Israeli side of the border, with entry barred to border towns.
Hezbollah responded to the strikes a few hours later, with rocket attacks reported near Israel’s border with Syria.
Visiting the area on Wednesday, Israel’s defence minister claimed that half of all Hezbollah commanders in southern Lebanon had now been killed.
“The other half are hiding or abandoning southern Lebanon,” said Yoav Gallant.
He said there would be further action in the months to come: “The coming period will be decisive” as Israel is facing “a number of alternatives” to bring security to the north.
On Tuesday, Israel killed two senior Hezbollah militants, one of whom it described as a “central terrorist”, in a series of airstrikes on Lebanon.
Hussein Azqul was killed in a drone strike on Aadloun, near the coastal city of Tyre. The IDF said he was a “central terrorist” in Hezbollah’s air defence unit.
An earlier strike killed Muhammad Attiya, reported to be a member of the aerial unit of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force.
Hezbollah confirmed the deaths of both Azqul and Attiya, saying they were killed “on the road to Jerusalem”, its term for members slain in Israeli strikes.
The uptick in fighting comes after a two-week lull in the conflict with the Tehran-funded militant group while Israel exchanged a series of escalating strikes with Iran.
The volatile situation in northern Israel, which has so far forced the evacuation of at least 80,000 people, has been cited as one of the reasons why Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, ultimately decided to refrain from an all-out direct war with Tehran.
