Israeli strike on Lebanon kills Hezbollah commander, four others

An Israeli strike on the village of Jouya in southern Lebanon late Tuesday killed at least four people, including a senior field commander in Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, three security sources told Reuters.

The Hezbollah commander killed in the Israeli strike was the most senior member of the group to be killed in eight months of hostilities with Israel, a security source told Reuters.

Hezbollah identified the killed commander by his rank in a statement, naming him as Taleb Abdallah.

He was identified by the sources as the group’s commander for the central region of the southern border strip, comprising some of the towns hardest hit in the last eight months of exchanges of fire between Israel and Hezbollah.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the commander’s role in Hezbollah was as significant as that of Wissam Tawil, a senior Hezbollah commander killed in an Israeli strike in January.

Some 300 Hezbollah fighters, including commanders and operatives with key responsibilities, have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon since October, when the Gaza war broke out.