An Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon killed a senior Hezbollah commander on Tuesday, according to a statement from the Iran-backed militant group. The commander, identified as Sami Abdallah, also known as Abu Taleb, was born in 1969. Hezbollah reported his death “with great pride and great honour.”
A Lebanese military source described the commander as “the most important in Hezbollah to be killed up to now since the start of the war” between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza. The conflict has escalated violence along the Lebanese border. The source stated that the strike targeted the town of Jouaiyya, located 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the Israeli border, and also resulted in the deaths of three other individuals.
Recent days have seen an intensification of exchanges of fire across the border between Hezbollah and Israeli forces. Clashes around the border have resulted in the deaths of at least 458 people in Lebanon, according to an AFP count. Israeli authorities report that at least 15 Israeli soldiers have been killed in the fighting.
The ongoing conflict has also displaced tens of thousands of people.
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