Israel announces “destruction” of Hezbollah leader during strike in Lebanon

IDF attacks Hezbollah leaders. The Israeli army said on Sunday it had “killed” the leader of a Lebanese movement in a strike in southern Lebanon, two days after killing another leader of the powerful armed group in a raid in the same region.

For nearly six months, daily violence has pitted the Israeli army against Hezbollah on the Israel-Lebanon border, which claims to support the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in its war against Israel in the Gaza Strip.

Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has an arsenal of missiles and precision-guided missiles, is striking Israeli military positions and populated areas near the border. Israel responds by bombing Lebanese territory, mainly in the south, in particular by carrying out targeted attacks on representatives of Hezbollah and Hamas.

Hezbollah confirms death

“An Air Force plane in the Kunin region of Lebanon hit the car carrying Ismail al-Zein,” the Israeli army said in a statement on Sunday. The IDF presented him as a “unit commander (…) responsible for dozens of attacks” on Israel. In Beirut, Hezbollah confirmed the death of Ismail al-Zein in a press release, without specifying his function within the movement.

On Friday, the Israeli army announced it had killed “Ali Abdel Hassan Naim, deputy commander of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile unit” in a strike on Bazouriyeh in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah also confirmed his death.

Since the war between Israel and Hamas began on October 7, at least 348 people have been killed in Lebanon – mostly Hezbollah fighters, but also at least 68 civilians, according to AFP. According to the army, ten soldiers and eight civilians were killed on the Israeli side.