Israel kills two commanders of Hezbollah’s elite forces in a bombing in southern Lebanon

Islamist group launches wave of suicide drones against two military bases

Jul 19. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Israeli army confirmed on Thursday the death of two commanders belonging to the elite forces of the Lebanese Shiite party-militia Hezbollah, whom it has identified as responsible for launching attacks against its territory, during a bombing carried out against the town of Jmaijmeh, in southern Lebanon, within the framework of the clashes between both parties following the war in the Gaza Strip.

“Fighter jets attacked tonight the headquarters of the Radwan Force where terrorists of the Hezbollah terrorist organization were located in the Jmaijme area, along with another headquarters of the organization in the Majdal Salem area. In the attack, the commander of a unit in the Radwan Force field of operations, terrorist Ali Jaafar Maatuq, was eliminated along with another commander in the field of operations, in the Hajir sector of the Radwan Force,” reads a statement posted on the social network X.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has also reported that a number of Hezbollah militants have been killed during the series of airstrikes targeting Hezbollah positions in the area.

The Islamist group, for its part, has acknowledged the “martyrdom” of Maatuq, alias ‘Habib Maatuq’, and of other people during the Israeli attack, which hit a three-storey building, according to the Lebanese television channel Al Manar, which is affiliated with the group. However, neither side has confirmed the identity of the second commander.

Shortly before, Hezbollah launched suicide drones against the headquarters of the Western Brigade (300), near the border with Lebanon, and against the Philon base, which serves as the headquarters of the 210th Division of the Northern Command, which is located 15.5 kilometers away from Lebanese territory and which has been attacked for the first time, claiming casualties at both bases.

The Israeli military also reported intercepting two rockets launched from Lebanon against the occupied Golan Heights, but they did not cause any casualties.

Clashes on the border between Hezbollah and Israeli security forces have intensified since the start of the military offensive on the Gaza Strip in October last year. Since then, at least 490 people have been killed in Lebanon, including some 370 Hezbollah members, while on the Israeli side around 30 people have been killed, half of them soldiers.

Tensions have been on the rise in recent weeks, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently warning that the Israeli army “is prepared for a very powerful action” on the border with Lebanon, while Hezbollah’s number two, Naim Qassem, has maintained that an expansion of the conflict would lead to “devastation and destruction” in Israel.

For his part, the leader of the Lebanese group, Hassan Nasrallah, said last week that if Hamas and Israel reach a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, the Shiite militia-party will also “unconditionally” end its attacks from Lebanon’s southern border, as several senior members of the party had expressed in the previous days.