Israeli army claims killing deputy commander of Hezbollah’s missile unit

By Abdel Ra'ouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army claimed to have killed the deputy commander of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile unit.

“The Israeli forces, using an air force aircraft, attacked and killed earlier Friday Ali Abd al-Hassan Naim in the Bazouriyeh area in Lebanon,” an Israeli army statement said on Friday.

It added that Naim was a “Hezbollah fighter who served as the deputy commander of the organization's rocket and missile unit.”

Hezbollah did not immediately comment on the Israeli army's claim.

Earlier, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that one person was killed in an Israeli drone attack on a car in the town of Bazouriyeh, Tyre district in southern Lebanon.

The targeted vehicle was engulfed by fire, and the body was removed by the Islamic Risala Scout Association, the agency said.

Tension has flared between Lebanese group Hezbollah and Israel along the shared border since the Oct. 7 cross-border incursion by Palestinian group Hamas, triggering the war in Gaza.

More than 300 people are estimated to have been killed in Lebanon, including at least 247 Hezbollah fighters, since clashes erupted in October.

Nearly 20 Israelis have been killed, according to Israeli figures.

The current escalation is said to be the deadliest since the 2006 Lebanon War.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi