Israeli navy strike in Beirut eliminates five senior IRGC Quds Force commanders

The group had been assisting Hezbollah and Hamas by facilitating financial transfers and intelligence cooperation.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Five commanders from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force were killed overnight in Beirut when an Israeli Navy strike targeted a hotel where they were staying, the Israel Defense Forces said Sunday, saying the terrorists were involved in supporting Hezbollah and Hamas.

The military said the officers served in Quds Force units responsible for activities connected to Lebanon and Palestinian groups.

According to Israeli officials, the group had been assisting Hezbollah and Hamas by facilitating financial transfers and intelligence cooperation.

The strike hit a room at the Ramada hotel in Beirut’s seaside Rawche district, the IDF said.

The military said it used precision-guided weapons and conducted aerial surveillance before the attack to reduce the risk to civilians.

The commanders were identified as Majid Hassini, whom the IDF described as a senior financial operative in the Lebanon Corps responsible for transferring funds from Iran to proxy groups in Lebanon, including Hezbollah and Hamas; Ali Reza Bi-Azar, chief of intelligence in the Lebanon Corps; Ahmad Rasouli, chief of intelligence in the Palestine Corps; Hossein Ahmadlou, an intelligence operative in the Lebanon Corps; and Abu Muhammad Ali, identified as Hezbollah’s representative in the Palestine Corps.

In a statement issued before releasing the names, the Israeli military accused Tehran of embedding its operatives within civilian areas.

“The Iranian terror regime systematically operates among civilian populations in both Iran and Lebanon, cynically exploiting residents and using them as human shields to further terrorist objectives,” the IDF said.

Lebanese officials said at least four people were killed in the strike, while Lebanon’s health ministry reported 10 wounded.

An AFP photographer at the seafront hotel reported shattered windows and heavy damage concentrated in a single room while Lebanese security forces blocked access to the building.

The hotel had been housing civilians displaced by fighting in southern Lebanon and Beirut’s southern suburbs.

Some residents were seen leaving the building after the strike out of concern that additional attacks could follow.

The strike came after Israel warned Iranian regime officials in Lebanon last week that they could be targeted if they remained in the country.

Reuters reported Saturday that more than 150 Iranian nationals, including diplomats and their families, left Lebanon following the warning.