Several Hezbollah commanders have been killed in attacks on Lebanon, Israel claims

Beirut: The Israeli military said it killed Hezbollah commanders in airstrikes in Lebanon.

“The IAF (Israeli Air Force) attacked and eliminated terrorist Muhammad Ali Ismail, commander of Hezbollah’s missile unit in southern Lebanon, and his deputy, terrorist Hussein Ahmad Ismail,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in the early hours of Thursday Saturday.

“At the same time, additional Hezbollah commanders and operatives were eliminated,” the IDF added.

The IDF said Muhammad Ali Ismail was responsible for directing attacks against Israel, including firing a surface-to-air missile on Wednesday.

The IDF said in a statement that Ismail was “responsible for many acts of terrorism… including rocket launches into the territory of the State of Israel and the firing of a surface-to-surface missile toward the center of the country last Wednesday.” .

The Israeli military said it also killed Ibrahim Muhammad Kabisi and “other senior officials of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile complex.”

Hezbollah neither confirmed nor denied Israel’s announcement about the commanders.

Israeli strikes hit Lebanon throughout Friday, including in the southern suburbs of Beirut, where the IDF said it carried out “targeted attacks” on Hezbollah weapons stored under civilian buildings.

Hezbollah has also denied that its weapons were stored in civilian buildings that were the target of Israeli strikes in the Dahiyeh area of ​​southern Beirut on Friday.

“The enemy’s claims about the presence of weapons in the bombed civilian buildings are completely false,” Hezbollah said in its first official comments on the airstrikes.

Explosions continued to rock the Lebanese capital early Saturday morning local time.

The IDF had previously said it was “carrying out targeted attacks on Hezbollah terrorist organization weapons stored under civilian buildings” and had ordered residents to evacuate certain areas.

The latest attacks come hours after an initial Israeli attack on Hezbollah’s alleged headquarters in Beirut on Friday. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, the operation leveled several buildings in a densely populated area, killing at least six people and injuring dozens more. Rescuers are still searching for survivors and additional victims and warned that the current death toll is not final.

(IANS)