UPDATE - Hezbollah confirms killing of key figure in Israeli airstrike in Beirut

ADDS ANNOUNCEMENT OF DEATH OF ANOTHER FIGHTER

By Ali Semerci

ISTANBUL (AA) – Hezbollah announced the death of Ibrahim Qubaisi, a key figure in the Lebanon-based resistance group that the Israeli army earlier said it targeted in an airstrike on Beirut's Dahiyeh district.

The group confirmed late Tuesday in a statement on Telegram that Qubaisi, born in 1962 in southern Lebanon, had been killed.

Earlier, the Israeli army said that during the recent strike in Dahiyeh, it targeted Qubaisi, who was identified as the head of Hezbollah's missile division.

Hezbollah later confirmed the death of another fighter, Hussein Hani Izzeddin, in ongoing clashes with Israeli forces in southern Lebanon.

Izzeddin was killed in Deir Qanoun En Nahr, bringing the total number of Hezbollah fighters killed since the conflict began in October 2023 to 507.

The Israeli army has launched waves of airstrikes in Lebanon since early Monday against what it claims are Hezbollah targets as the conflict between the two sides escalates.

The airstrikes have killed nearly 560 people, including 95 women and 50 children, and injured 1,835 others, according to Lebanese Health Minister Firas Abiad.