Israel has killed more than 123 people, including three journalists, in Lebanon, according to figures by the Lebanese health ministry.
Israel has killed senior Hezbollah commander Wissam Hassan Al-Tawil on Monday in an Israeli strike on Khirbet Selm, southern Lebanon, the Lebanese group’s Al Manar TV and state media confirmed.
Al-Tawil was a senior commander of Radwan Force, a Hezbollah special unit, and played a key role in the group’s operations in southern Lebanon, where cross-border attacks with Israel have intensified since October 8.
The Islamic Resistance issued a statement on the attack confirming Al-Tawil was killed alongside another member, Al-Hajj Jawad, during the same air strike.
“With utmost pride and honour, the Islamic Resistance mourns its martyr, the valiant commander Wissam Hassan Tawil, Al-Hajj Jawad, from the town of Khirbet Selim in southern Lebanon, who attained martyrdom on the path to Jerusalem,” the statement said, as cited by Lebanon’s news agency (NNA).
NNA had reported earlier that “two martyrs have been reported dead” in an Israeli drone strike at 10:15 am local time. The drone targeted a Skoda Rapid car in the vicinity of Al-Dabsha area in the southern Lebanese town of Khirbet Selim.
“The airstrike caused the car to veer off the road and catch fire. Emergency medical and firefighting teams from the Civil Defense, Islamic Scouts, Red Cross, and other responders promptly arrived at the scene and worked on extinguishing the flames,” NNA added.
The killing of the top Hezbollah commander marked the latest escalation in the ongoing cross-border attacks in southern Lebanon, which started since the beginning of the Israeli war on Gaza on October 7.
The tensions in southern Lebanon raised fears over another war, prompting the Lebanese government to discuss an emergency plan on October 31.
In 2006, Israel waged a deadly 34-day war on Lebanon, killing 1,200 mostly Lebanese civilians. The war ended with Hezbollah forcing Israeli soldiers out after weeks of intense attacks.
Tensions soared after Israel killed senior Hamas leader Saleh Al-Arouri in Beirut last week, marking the first such attack on the Lebanese capital since the war. On Friday, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned Israel that it would respond to Al-Arouri’s killing.
Israel has killed more than 123 people, including three journalists, in Lebanon, according to figures by the Lebanese health ministry, last updated on January 3.
In Gaza, Israel has killed at least 23,084 Palestinians in Gaza while injuring 58,926 others, according to the latest figures by the Strip’s health authorities.