Lebanese civil defense workers search for victims in the rubble of a building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike a day earlier in central Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, April 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem’s top aide, Ali Yusuf Harshi, was among nearly 200 terrorists killed in Israeli strikes across Lebanon following Iran ceasefire.
By World Israel News Staff
The top aide to Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon on Wednesday, an IDF spokesperson announced Thursday morning.
“Yesterday (Wednesday), the IDF struck and killed Ali Yusuf Harshi, the personal secretary of Hezbollah secretary-general Naim Qassem and Qassem’s nephew, in the Beirut area,” the IDF announced.
In addition, the IDF bombed Hezbollah infrastructure across southern Lebanon overnight.
Harshi was a close associate and personal adviser to Hezbollah secretary-general Naim Qassem and played a central role in managing his office and providing for his security.
During the night, the IDF struck two central crossings that were used by Hezbollah terrorists to cross the Litani River in Lebanon, and to transfer thousands of weapons, rockets, and launchers.
In addition, around 10 weapons depots, launchers, and command centers used by the Hezbollah terrorist organization in southern Lebanon were also struck.
Harshi was one of nearly 200 people killed during a series of Israeli airstrikes against Hezbollah positions across Lebanon on Wednesday.
On Thursday, the Lebanese Health Ministry said that 182 fatalities were confirmed in connection to the strikes, with 890 people wounded. The ministry added that the death toll is expected to rise.
The strikes were concentrated in Hezbollah strongholds including southern Lebanon, the Dahiyeh suburb of Beirut, and the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon.
The IDF has said that it has eliminated more than 1,100 Hezbollah terrorists since the latest round of fighting began last month, officially ending the fragile ceasefire signed in November 2024.
Iran claimed Wednesday that the two-week truce with Israel and the US also included a halt to hostilities in Lebanon. Hezbollah is a proxy of the Iranian regime, and Tehran had previously sought to include a clause in a truce agreement extending any ceasefire to Lebanon.
However, President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance both said publicly that the ceasefire deal does not include Lebanon.
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