TEL AVIV: The Israeli military claimed on Sunday the airstrike that killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah this week in Beirut also killed more than 20 other members of the Lebanese group.
Meanwhile, Israel carried out a fresh attack on Sunday on Hezbollah’s southern Beirut bastion, a Lebanese security official said.
“More than 20 other members of varying ranks, who were present at the underground headquarters in Beirut located beneath civilian buildings, and were managing Hezbollah’s operations were also killed,” the military said in a statement.
In a statement, the Israeli military identified several Hezbollah members killed in Friday’s strike, including Ibrahim Hussein Jazini and Samir Tawfiq Dib, both considered close associates of Nasrallah.
The military said that their proximity to the Hezbollah chief positioned them as significant figures in the organization’s day-to-day operations. “Due to their proximity to him, they served a significant role in the day-to-day operations of Hezbollah and Nasrallah in particular,” it said.
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Hezbollah confirmed Nasrallah’s death on Saturday and, in a subsequent announcement, identified Ali Karake, the group’s top commander in southern Lebanon, as another casualty of the Friday strike. Other names listed by the Israeli military included Abed al-Amir Muhammad Sablini and Ali Naaf Ayoub.
In recent days, Israel has redirected its military focus from Gaza to Lebanon, following nearly a year of sporadic cross-border exchanges with Hezbollah, killing hundreds in Lebanon and displacing scores more.
Meanwhile, Israel carried out a fresh attack on Sunday against Hezbollah in southern Beirut.
The latest attack came days after a similar strike killed the group’s powerful leader Hassan Nasrallah, sending tensions soaring amid intensive Israeli strikes on the country’s east, south and south Beirut.
“Israel carried out an air strike on Beirut’s southern suburb,” said a Lebanese official.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported a “violent raid carried out by Israeli warplanes”, adding that ambulances had rushed to the area of Beirut’s southern suburbs.
