AN ISRAELI strike killed a senior Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon today as tensions between the two sides remain high.
The attack, near the southern coastal city of Tyre, took place amid global diplomatic efforts in recent weeks to prevent escalating clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli military from spiralling into an all-out war.
A Hezbollah statement identified the victim of the strike as Mohammad Naameh Nasser, who went by the name Abu Naameh.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Hezbollah official said that Mr Naameh was the head of the Shi’ite resistance movement’s Aziz Unit, one of three regional divisions in southern Lebanon.
He is the most senior official of the group killed since Taleb Sami Abdullah, who died in an air strike on June 11.
In a speech honouring Mr Abdullah, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said that he had played a pivotal role on the front line, leading the Nasr Unit, since clashes began on October 8.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the attack.
Hezbollah began launching rockets into northern Israel on October 8 last year, the day after a bloody Hamas attack on the country’s south, leading to limited clashes along the tense border.
The attacks have gradually escalated on both sides since then.
Hezbollah says it will end its attacks once there is a ceasefire in Gaza.
Until then, it has vowed to continue them to pile pressure on Israel and the international community, although Israeli officials have threatened to launch a larger military operation if the attacks do not cease.
Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Kassem said on Monday that Israel could not expect the group’s attacks to remain limited if Tel Aviv’s forces launch a military operation within Lebanon, even if it aims to keep the conflict below the threshold of all-out war.
Allies, including thousands of Iran-backed militia fighters in Iraq, have offered to join Hezbollah on the front lines.
Since October, Israeli air strikes in Lebanon have reportedly killed over 450 people, while some 27 Israelis are known to have been killed in the border fighting.
