UPDATE - 2 more Hezbollah fighters killed in border clashes with Israel

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By Wassim Saifeddine and Naim Berjawi

BEIRUT (AA) - Two more Hezbollah fighters were killed in clashes with Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, the group announced Thursday.

It identified the fighters as senior Radwan Force commander Ali Jaafar Maatuk, 51, also known as “Habib Maatuk,” and Hasan Ali Muhanna, 40, also known as "Abu Hadi.”

It did not provide any details about the circumstances of their deaths, however.

The Israeli army reported that Maatuk was killed in an airstrike conducted by fighter jets in southern Lebanon.

A military statement said the army eliminated Maatuk, who was responsible for operations within Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, along with another commander whose name was not disclosed.

Earlier in the day, the Israeli army said in a statement that it killed Muhanna in an airstrike in the town of Qana in southern Lebanon.

It said Muhanna “was a member of Hezbollah's engineering unit in the Qana area and played a role in planning and executing various operations against Israel.”

At least 372 Hezbollah fighters have been killed since the outbreak of cross-border clashes with the Israeli army on Oct. 8, 2023, according to an Anadolu tally.

Fears have grown about a full-fledged war between Israel and the Lebanese resistance group amid an exchange of almost daily attacks. The escalation comes against the backdrop of a deadly Israeli onslaught against Gaza which has killed more than 38,800 people since last October, following an attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala and Mohammad Sio