LONDON: An Israeli airstrike on Saturday in the southern Lebanese village of Deir Al-Zahrani killed a senior Hezbollah commander following a drone attack by the Iran-backed group that seriously wounded three Israeli soldiers, the Israeli military said.
The military identified the commander as Ali Mohammad Fakhreddine, also known as Abu Hassan Alaa.
The Israeli army said he led Hezbollah’s Badr regional division, which operates north of the Litani River, and was involved in numerous attacks on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, the Times of Israel reported.
The strike in Deir Al-Zahrani came after Hezbollah launched an explosive drone attack before dawn, Israel said. The military described the operation as a response to that attack.
Lebanese media, citing the country’s Health Ministry, reported that the Deir Al-Zahrani strike killed four people and wounded 17.
Fakhreddine’s death followed the killing of another Hezbollah commander, Ali Samir Al-Haj Hassan, in a separate Israeli strike on Saturday in the nearby town of Ansar. Israel identified Al-Haj Hassan as a battalion commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force.
The Ansar strike hit a home on the town’s outskirts, killing seven people, including three children, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
Hezbollah said the Israeli attacks would be “met with what they deserve.”
Lebanese leaders condemned the Saturday bombings, which have killed at least 11 people in the heaviest attacks since a ceasefire was renewed in June through US mediation.
Lebanon and Israel reached truce agreements on June 4 and June 26 under the administration of President Donald Trump.
The June 4 deal was contingent on a “complete cessation” of Hezbollah fire and the withdrawal of its fighters. The June 26 framework did not explicitly require Israeli forces to withdraw, instead linking any withdrawal to Hezbollah’s disarmament.
Those agreements followed an April truce that collapsed.
None of the ceasefire agreements has halted Israeli military operations or its expansion of control over Lebanese territory, where the strikes have continued to claim civilian lives and destroy infrastructure.
