A senior Hezbollah commander was killed in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon Wednesday as fears of an all-out war grow between the two sides.
Agence France-Presse and Reuters reported that the senior commander was killed in an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the southern city of Tyre, 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border. The commander was responsible for part of Hezbollah’s border operations, according to Reuters. Video purportedly showing the aftermath of the strike spread on Lebanese social media at around 2:30 p.m. local time (7:30 a.m. EST).
Hezbollah’s news outlet Al-Manar reported an Israeli strike on a vehicle near Tyre. Later, the group said in a statement that military commander Mohammad Neameh Nasser, known as Hajj Abu Neameh, had “ascended as a martyr.” Hezbollah also announced the death of a fighter named Mohammad Ghassan Khachab. The group did not specify how the two were killed.
Hezbollah said it targeted Israeli military sites near the border at around 4:00 p.m. local time (9:00 a.m. EST). The Israeli military reported sirens in northern Israel at roughly 5:30 p.m. local time (10:30 a.m. EST).
At around 6:45 p.m. local time (11:45 a.m. EST), Hezbollah said it fired 210 katyusha rockets at Israel’s Nafah and Keila bases in the Golan Heights as well as rockets at a base in Kiryat Shmona in the north.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it “eliminated” Nasser, describing him as the commander of Hezbollah’s Aziz unit. Nasser was responsible for rocket and anti-tank missile attacks on Israel from southwest Lebanon, according to the military.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported that an Israeli drone targeted a vehicle on the Al-Hosh road east of Tyre.
Cross-border attacks between the Israeli military and Hezbollah have increased in recent weeks, prompting fears that a major war could break out between the two. Last month, senior Hezbollah commander Taleb Abdallah, known as Abu Taleb, was killed in an Israeli strike, after which the group fired salvo at rockets at Israel.
The escalation comes as US President Joe Biden’s envoy, Amos Hochstein, arrived in Paris Wednesday to meet with French special envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian for further talks on Lebanon.
The meeting comes against the backdrop of growing concerns in the Middle East, Europe and the United States over a possible war between Israel and Hezbollah after a series of tit-for-tat missile attacks across the border.
Last week, the French Foreign Ministry issued a statement reading, “France is extremely concerned by the gravity of the situation in Lebanon, as violence on the border with Israel intensifies dramatically. We call on all parties to exercise the utmost restraint and to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1701.”
Le Drian, who served as foreign minister between 2017 and 2022, is tasked with helping Lebanon address the political and economic crisis it has been mired in for the two years since the mandate of President Michel Aoun expired in October 2022. Since then, Lebanon has not had a president.
While the Israel-Hezbollah file is in the hands of the French Foreign Ministry, French diplomatic sources told Al-Monitor that it would be very difficult to promote any solution for the political impasse in Lebanon while the threat of an all-out-war is hanging over the country.
In a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron urged steps to prevent war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Macron reiterated "his serious concern over a deepening of tensions between Hezbollah and Israel along the Blue Line … and underscored the absolute need to prevent a conflagration that would harm the interests of Lebanon as well as Israel,” according to a statement issued by the Elysee Palace.
The US envoy last traveled to Israel on June 14, when he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials. His visit to Israel came just days after French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the United States, France and Israel had agreed to work together to promote a road map presented by Paris earlier last February to de-escalate tensions between Hezbollah and Israel.
This developing story has been updated since initial publication.
