IDF eliminates Hezbollah media chief in Beirut strike

In October, Afif boasted, ‘It won’t be long before we take Israeli captives.’

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

An Israeli strike in central Beirut killed a Hezbollah media chief on Sunday, Reuters reports.

Mohammad Afif, who served as the long-time media advisor to the deceased head of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah, was killed in the Ras al-Nabaa neighborhood of Beirut.

The strike targeted the Ba’ath Party offices in Lebanon, and the head of the party, Ali Hijazi, told the Lebanese media that Afif was dead.

Before the strike, IDF Arab Media Spokesperson Avichay Adraee posted on X/Twitter a map of places Israel was planning to target.

The post was intended for civilians in the Haret Hreik and Burj al-Barajneh areas as an evacuation notice.

Reuters reported that civilians in the Ras al-Nabaa did not receive evacuation orders.

In addition to serving as media adviser to Nasrallah, Mohammed Afif ran the Al-Manar television station before taking over the media office.

In October, Afif boasted, “It won’t be long before we take Israeli captives.”

Although he acknowledged that Hezbollah did not have Israeli hostages, he said the terror organization “came close” to kidnapping Israelis.
He also said that Hezbollah was “only in the first round” as the IDF fought terrorists in Southern Lebanon.

A security official told Maariv that eliminating Afif has “significant implications.”

“Firstly, such an action deals a mortal blow to the Shia population and Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon,” he explained.

“In addition, it could further impair the organization’s ability to influence the Lebanese public and operate with its own members. This individual was responsible for propaganda, conveying messages, and was a dominant figure for the organization’s leadership and in engaging with the Lebanese public,” the official said.

IDF reported that the air force had carried out “intelligence-based strikes on six Hezbollah military targets” in the Dahieh area.

The IDF also targeted weapons storage facilities, command centers, and military sites.