Israel kills senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon: Sources
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BEIRUT - Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander in a strike in south Lebanon on Jan 8, said sources familiar with the group’s operations, inflicting a heavy blow after three months of hostilities at the Lebanese-Israeli frontier.
Mr Wissam Tawil was a commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan forces and the most senior Hezbollah officer killed so far in the conflict, a senior source in Lebanon said, adding that Mr Tawil played a leading role in directing its operations in the south.
More than 130 Hezbollah fighters including Radwan members have been killed in hostilities since the group’s Palestinian ally Hamas attacked Israel from Gaza on Oct 7,
It has marked the deadliest confrontation between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah since they went to war in 2006, with Hezbollah firing guided rockets and other weapons at Israeli positions and Israel launching air and artillery strikes.
Tens of thousands of people on both sides of the frontier have fled, and the fighting has raised concern of an even wider conflict.
Mr Tawil and another Hezbollah fighter were killed when the car they were in was struck in the village of Majdal Selm, some 6km from the border, three sources in Lebanon said.
There was no immediate comment from Israel.
Hezbollah circulated photographs of Mr Tawil with leaders of the heavily armed Shi'ite Muslim group, including secretary-general Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and military commander Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed in Syria in 2008.
Another photo showed Mr Tawil sitting next to Mr Qassem Soleimani, the late leader of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force, who was killed by a United States drone strike in Baghdad four years ago.
The senior source said Mr Tawil’s death marked a big blow, given his experience, including deployments with Hezbollah in Syria and Iraq.
Hezbollah says its current campaign against Israel aims to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, which has been devastated by an Israeli offensive since Hamas’ Oct 7 attack. The hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel have largely been contained to areas near the Lebanese-Israeli border.
Tensions spiked higher last week when an Israeli strike killed deputy Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri
Hezbollah said on Jan 6 that it had hit a key Israeli observation post with 62 rockets as a “preliminary response” to Mr Arouri’s killing.
Other members of the Radwan force killed during the hostilities include Mr Abbas Raad, the son of a leading Hezbollah politician. He was killed in an Israeli strike last November.
Mr Nasrallah warned Israel in two televised addresses last week not to launch a full-scale war on Lebanon. “Whoever thinks of war with us – in one word, he will regret it,” Mr Nasrallah said.
On Jan 7, Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Qassem said the group did not want to “initiate total war, but if Israel decides to wage total war on us, then we in the field will respond with total war without hesitation and with all we have”.
A total of 19 Hezbollah fighters have been killed in Syria since hostilities erupted.
The Hamas-Israel war has drawn in Iran-aligned groups across the region, with the Houthis of Yemen firing on ships in the Red Sea
