Israel confirms killing of senior Hezbollah commander in S. Lebanon
Smoke rises from the Lebanese side, near the Israeli border town of Metulla, amid ongoing cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as pictured from the town of Klayaa, southern Lebanon, June 12.
The Israeli military confirmed on Wednesday that it killed a senior Hezbollah commander, Sami Taleb Abdullah, in southern Lebanon in an airstrike on Tuesday.
"As part of the strike, Sami Taleb Abdullah, the commander of the Nasr Unit in Hezbollah, was eliminated," the military said in a statement, adding that he was "one of Hezbollah's most senior commanders in southern Lebanon."
The military released video footage of the attack, showing a bombing of a building which, as the military said, was a Hezbollah command and control center in the town of Jouaiya in Tyre district.
The center was used to direct attacks from southeastern Lebanon against Israel, and 55-year-old Abdullah, known within Hezbollah as Hajj Abu Taleb, was its commander, according to the Israeli military.
Lebanese TV channel Al-Jadeed confirmed the death of Abdullah, adding that three other people were killed and 10 others injured during the attack.
On Wednesday morning, Hezbollah announced it had launched retaliatory attacks using rockets, drones, and missiles on military sites in northern Israel. According to the Israeli military, at least 170 projectiles were fired from Lebanon toward Israel.
Israel and Hezbollah forces have been exchanging fire along the Lebanon-Israel border since October 8, 2023.
