The Israeli military announces it has killed Hezbollah commanders and other leaders in airstrikes in southern Lebanon

Lebanon: The Israeli military has said that it has killed the head of Hezbollah‘s missile unit in southern Lebanon, along with numerous senior commanders of the group supported by Iran and his deputy, in an airstrike.

“Muhammad Ali Ismail, the commander of Hezbollah’s missile unit in southern Lebanon, and his deputy were killed by Israeli fighter jets,” the military claimed in a Telegram message. “Other terrorists and Hezbollah commanders were eliminated.”

Ismail was named in the statement as “responsible for many acts of terrorism… including the launch of a surface-to-surface missile towards the country’s center last Wednesday and rocket launches towards the territory of the State of Israel.” Ibrahim Muhammad Kabisi and “other senior officials in Hezbollah’s missile and rocket array” were also reportedly killed, according to the Israeli military. Regarding the commanders, Hezbollah has neither confirmed nor refuted Israel’s claim.

Chief of Hezbollah and daughter killed?

This news coincided with reports from Israeli media that Hezbollah commander Hassan Nasrallah had died in Friday’s targeted IDF attacks on the organization’s central Beirut headquarters, which is supported by Iran. The head of Hezbollah was among the targets of IDF bombings, an Israeli source told The Jerusalem Post, calling it “hard to believe he [Nasrallah] got out of it alive.”

There were also reports that an Israeli bombing in southern Beirut killed Nasrallah’s daughter, Zainab Nasrallah. Her death was announced by Israeli news outlet Channel 12, although neither Hezbollah nor Lebanese officials have provided an official statement on the matter.

According to the Israeli military, it is now carrying out attacks against key terrorist locations in the Beirut region that are affiliated with the terrorist group Hezbollah. It said in a post on X that “buildings used to store advanced weapons, weapons production facilities, and key command centers of the terrorist organization are among the targets struck.”