Contact Us

Hezbollah keeps up pressure on Israel days after commander's death

On Saturday, Hezbollah continued their retaliatory attacks on Israel, following an air strike that resulted in the death of one of their commanders. Similarly, a Palestinian group reported that one of their fighters had also been killed in south Lebanon.

Published June 15,2024
Subscribe

Hezbollah kept up retaliatory attacks on Israel Saturday, days after an air strike killed one of its commanders, while a Palestinian group said one of its fighters was killed in south Lebanon.

Senior Hezbollah commander Taleb Abdallah was killed in an Israeli strike in the village of Jouaiyya on Tuesday along with three comrades.

The Iran-backed movement said Saturday it targeted the Meron base in northern Israel with "guided missiles", and sent "attack drones" towards another Israeli base "as part of the response to the attack and assassination carried out by the enemy in Jouaiyya".

Israel and Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, have traded near-daily cross-border fire since the Palestinian resistance group's October 7 attack on Israel which triggered war in the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army had confirmed it carried out the strike targeting Abdallah, describing him as "one of Hezbollah's most senior commanders in southern Lebanon".

On Saturday, the Israeli army said "two projectiles were fired from Lebanon toward the IDF (army) Aerial Control Unit in the area of Meron in northern Israel", reporting "no injuries or damage to the unit's capabilities".

It also said "several aerial targets were identified crossing from Lebanon into Israeli territory" and striking in the Goren area. It said there were no reports of casualties but that "a fire broke out".

"Aircraft struck a Hezbollah" in south Lebanon's Aitarun area, the military said, adding that "artillery fired to remove a threat", also in the Aitarun area.

The armed wing of Palestinian movement Islamic Jihad later said one of its fighters had been killed in south Lebanon.

On Wednesday, top Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine vowed the group would "increase the intensity, strength, quantity and quality of our attacks", in an address at Abdallah's funeral.

A Lebanese military source said Abdallah was the "most important" Hezbollah commander to have been killed since the start of the war.

The cross-border violence has killed at least 471 people in Lebanon, most of them fighters but also including 91 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

Israeli authorities say at least 15 Israeli soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed.