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Israel claims Lebanon airstrike killed a Hezbollah commander

March 29, 2024

The Israeli military says it killed a Hezbollah rocket unit commander in an airstrike in south Lebanon.

https://p.dw.com/p/4eFhy
An Israeli Air Force F-15 fighter plane maneuvers over northern Israel on the border with Lebanon
Recent days have seen an uptick in deadly hostilities between Israel and HezbollahImage: Ariel Schalit/AP Photo/picture alliance

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Friday it had killed Ali Abed Akhsan Naim, deputy commander of Hezbollah's rocket and missiles unit, in an airstrike in the area of  Bazouriyeh in Lebanon.

The IDF said he was one of the militia's leaders and was responsible for conducting and planning attacks against Israeli civilians.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported that "a raid by an enemy drone targeted a car" in Bazouriyeh and killed at least one person.

Israel strikes Iran-backed forces

Hezbollah is an Iran-backed Shiite political party and militant group in Lebanon. It is considered a terrorist organization by the US and Germany while the EU lists its armed wing as a terrorist group.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, there have been near-daily clashes along the border between Israel and Lebanon. 

Nearly 270 Hezbollah fighters and 50 civilians, including medics, civilians, and journalists, have been killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon. Around a dozen Israeli troops and half a dozen civilians have lost their lives in northern Israel.

Lebanese seek end to border battles by Ramadan

Israel also carried out its deadliest strikes in months in northern Syria's Aleppo province early on Friday.

Three Hezbollah fighters were confirmed to be among the dead in Syria, war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. 

lo/sms (Reuters, AFP)