A senior commander from the group’s elite Radwan force was killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs on Wednesday evening, AFP reported.
Citing a source, the report said that “Malek Ballout, the operations commander in the Radwan force,” was killed. The attack is the first in the area in nearly a month.
Israeli PM on death of Radwan force commander
Israeli Prime Minister said that his military targeted “the commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan force.” In a post on X, he added, “I instructed, together with Defense Minister Israel Katz, to strike now in Beirut the commander of the Radwan Force in the terrorist organization Hezbollah in order to neutralize him. Radwan terrorists are responsible for firing at Israeli settlements and harming IDF soldiers. No terrorist has immunity – Israel’s long arm will reach every enemy and murderer. We promised to bring security to the residents of the north – this is how it’s done, and this is how it will be done!”
Israel attacks Lebanon
According to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency, Israeli warplanes launched an , targeting Ghobeiri in the southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold.
and its southern suburbs had been spared from Israeli attacks since April 8, after massive strikes across the country resulted in the deaths of over 350 people.
The attack on Hezbollah’s Radwan force commander came as US President said that there was “a very good chance” of sealing a peace deal with Iran.
While a truce went into force on April 17, Israel has repeatedly bombed Lebanon, particularly the south, with retaliating by launching attacks on Israeli troops.
According to Reuters, the Israeli attack was the first since Tel Aviv agreed to a ceasefire with Hezbollah last month. As Iran and the say they are drawing closer to a deal to halt their conflict, the strikes threaten the ceasefire that halted Israeli attacks on Beirut. Israeli troops have remained in areas south of the Litani River, and strikes continued in southern Lebanon.
Earlier on Wednesday, Tel Aviv called for residents to evacuate several villages north of the Litani River, which could represent an expansion of Israel’s zone of action.
Israel-Lebanon talks continue
According to reports, while talks between Israel and Lebanon have continued, they have largely stayed at the ambassador level.
Earlier today, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that it was premature to talk of any high-level meeting between Beirut and Tel Aviv and added that shoring up a ceasefire would be the basis for any new negotiations between Lebanese and Israeli government envoys in Washington.
Last month, Washington hosted two meetings between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the US. On April 23, Trump announced a three-week extension of the ceasefire between and Lebanon, adding that he looked forward to hosting Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the near future and that he saw “a great chance” that the countries would reach a peace deal this year.
Lebanon drawn into Middle East war
According to reports, Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the war on March 2, two days after the US and Israel launched a war against its backer, Iran. Hezbollah attacked Israel in support of the Islamic Republic.
Since then, Israeli strikes on Lebanon have killed more than 2,700 people, with over a million displaced, particularly from southern and eastern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs.
(with agency inputs)
