IDF has killed half of Hezbollah commanders, says Israeli defense chief

Half of Lebanese terror group’s brigade commanders have been eliminated, says Defense Minister Gallant, while other half have gone into hiding.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has announced that 50% of Hezbollah’s commanders have been killed and the rest are in hiding, but The Jerusalem Post has clarified that the 50% number refers to brigade rather than battalion commanders.

The IDF announced that it had eliminated six Hezbollah brigade commanders and 30 battalion commanders in total.

It is estimated that Hezbollah has 50,000 to 100,000 soldiers, commanded by 10 to 15 brigade commanders.

However, one source told the Jerusalem Post that Hezbollah is structured differently than Hamas with the Radwan forces having a separate organizational structure from the rest of Hezbollah.

Regardless of how Hezbollah’s military is organized, it’s apparent that the IDF has eliminated a significant number of Hezbollah commanders, which may have a total number of 50.

Gallant said the news of a large number of Hezbollah commanders killed is an indication that the terror group’s daily attacks on the northern border may have an end in sight and the tens of thousands of evacuees from the north may soon be able to return home safely.

“We are dealing with a number of alternatives in order to establish this matter, and the coming period will be decisive in this regard,” Gallant says.

Over the past few weeks, the IDF has eliminated a number of high-profile terrorist commanders.

Last week, a senior Hezbollah terrorist was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon Tuesday, following a series of Hezbollah attacks on Israel.

Ismail Yusuf Baz, commander of Hezbollah’s coastal operations, was killed when Israeli aircraft struck a vehicle driving through the town of Ain Ebel near the Israeli-Lebanese frontier.

A week earlier, the IDF eliminated a top Hezbollah commander in an airstrike in southern Lebanon.

Ali Ahmed Hussein, who held the equivalent rank of a brigade commander in the terror organization’s elite Radwan Force, was killed when Israeli jets hit a house in the town of Al Sultana in the Bint Jbeil area.

HezbollahIDFYoav Gallant