Israel Says 11 Key Hezbollah Commanders Killed in 9 Months of Fighting
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has killed 11 key Hezbollah commanders, including Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, during the nine months of fighting, the Israeli military said on Friday.
Israeli airstrikes killed Wissam Tawil, a senior Hezbollah commander and leader of the Lebanese group’s elite Radwan force, on January 8. A June 3 strike killed Mohammad Nasser, a military operations commander followed by a June 11 strike that killed Taleb Abdullah, commander of drone units.
On July 30, a strike on a southern suburb in Beirut took the life of Fuad Shukr, a second-tier commander and founding member of Hezbollah. In response to Shukr’s death, Hezbollah launched an unprecedented attack on Israel’s military intelligence base in Glilot, near Tel Aviv.
On September 20, an airstrike on a residential building on Beirut’s southern outskirts killed Ibrahim Akil, commander of Hezbollah’s special forces, senior commander Ahmad Wahbi, and 50 others. Israeli forces killed Hezbollah’s missile forces commander Ibrahim Qubaisi on September 25 and air force commander Mohammad Srour on September 26.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and Southern Front Commander Ali Karaki were killed in a massive bombing of a southern Beirut suburb during a meeting in an underground bunker on September 27.
The following day, Israeli airstrikes targeted Beirut’s suburbs again, killing Nabil Qaouk, head of Hezbollah’s security service.
The Israeli military said all the deaths were confirmed by Hezbollah. Hashem Safieddine, the Lebanese group’s perspective new leader, and Abu Ali Rida, commander of its elite Badr unit, are said to be the only senior Hezbollah officers that are still alive.
