Israel announced on Tuesday that it had killed two Hezbollah commanders and a member of the party’s missile unit in strikes carried out in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah confirmed the deaths of three of its members in Israeli airstrikes, which were in response to rocket launches into Israel.
The Israeli military stated in a statement that it targeted “a leader of Hezbollah’s coastal region” named Ismail Yusuf Baz with an airstrike in the Lebanese town of Ain B’al.
Another statement from the Israeli army announced the killing of “the commander of the missile unit in the western sector of the Radwan Force, Mohammed Hussein Mustafa Shihouri, in Kafr Dounin.”
The statement indicated that Shihouri was “responsible for planning and executing several operations to launch rockets towards Israeli territory from the central and western sectors of southern Lebanon.”
Additionally, the army announced the killing of Mahmoud Ibrahim Fadlallah, described as an “activist” in Hezbollah’s missile unit.
The National News Agency in Lebanon reported that a “hostile drone” targeted a car in the town of Ain B’al, about 15 kilometers from the nearest border point with Israel, resulting in “the death of a martyr and the injury of two others,” without specifying whether the casualty was a civilian or a fighter.
Hezbollah later confirmed the death of Baz without specifying his rank or role. However, a source close to the party indicated that “a field commander responsible for the Naqoura area axis was killed in an Israeli strike” in Ain B’al.
The party also announced the killing of Shihouri and another member, without clarifying their roles. Its ally, the Amal Movement, reported the death of a member affiliated with them in Ain B’al as well.
Hezbollah stated that it launched rockets at Israeli military positions in response to “Israeli aggression against the steadfast southern villages and civilian homes, especially the attacks on the towns of Ain B’al and Al-Shihabiya.”
Earlier, the party announced an aerial attack using “precision drones” targeting “the missile defense system in Beit Hillel.”
The Israeli military stated Tuesday that “Iran will not escape punishment,” amidst escalating tensions between Israel and Iran.
This follows Iran’s launch of dozens of drones and missiles into Israel over the weekend, in its first direct attack against Israel in response to the bombing of the Iranian consulate building in Damascus in early April.
