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Hezbollah commander and deputy killed in IDF strike

Ali Muhammad al-Debes and his deputy Hassan Ibrahim Issa were involved in a March 2023 bombing at the Megiddo Junction that seriously injured a man.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

The IDF announced that it eliminated a senior commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force along with a deputy in southern Lebanon on Thursday.

Ali Muhammad al-Debes and his deputy Hassan Ibrahim Issa were involved in a March 2023 bombing at the Megiddo Junction that seriously injured a man and also planned many other terrorist attacks, including multiple bombings on the border with Israel.

According to Lebanese sources, ten people were killed in the strike including 3 Hezbollah terrorists and seven members of  a family who were in the upstairs section of the building.

al-Debes was hit and wounded in a targeted attack last week in the Lebanese town of  Nabatieh.

Hussein Ahmad Aqeel from Jebbayn was another Hezbollah terrorist who was killed in the operation.

Israel was responding to a Hezbollah rocket attack in Northern Israel that killed one soldier and wounded 8 others.

On Thursday, the fighting continued with 14 projectiles, including rockets and anti-tank missiles, fired at Kiryat Shmona, Channel 12 reported.

One rocket fell in the city, but there were no reported injuries.

Earlier on Thursday, anti-tank missiles were fired at northern communities of Shtula and Mount Dov.

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Also early in Thursday and overnight, the IDF hit Hezbollah infrastructure in Labbouneh and  Taybeh.

Hezbollah has fired missiles into Israel since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war with fears that the conflict could escalate into a full-scale war between Hezbollah and Israel.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the IDF has stepped up its attacks against Hezbollah “one level out of 10.”

He added that the IDF has “very significant strength” and “ added, “We can attack not only at 20 kilometers [from the border], but also at 50 kilometers, and in Beirut and anywhere else,” Gallant said.

He added, “We do not want to reach this situation, we do not want to enter into a war, but rather wish to reach an agreement that will allow the safe return of residents of the north to their homes.”

Gallant continued, “But if there is no choice, we will act to bring [the residents] back and create the appropriate security for them. ”

“This should be clear to both our enemies and our friends. And as the State of Israel, the defense establishment, and the IDF have proven in recent months, when we say something, we mean it,” Gallant concluded.