A woman holds a photo of a Hezbollah fighter killed in conflict with Israel, as people gather to watch a televised speech by Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah on the fourth anniversary of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani death, in southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, 03 January 2024. EFE/EPA/ABBAS SALMAN

Hezbollah commander killed in Israeli drone strike in Lebanon

Beirut, Jan 8 (EFE).- A commander of the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah was killed Monday in an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon.

One other enger who was in the vehicle he was traveling in was also killed.

An Isareli soldier from the artillery unit, wearing a jacket with a graffiti of a target with Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah at its center, prepares to fire towards a target in Lebanon form an undisclosed location at Lebanon-Israel border, Israel, 04 January 2024. EFE/EPA/ATEF SAFADI

In a statement, Hezbollah announced the death of its “commander” Wissam Hassan Taweel alias ‘Hajj Jawad’.

A source close to the Shiite movement who requested anonymity confirmed to EFE that Taweel was killed while traveling in a vehicle through Khirbet al Salam and that he was a member of the Radwan special forces.

The elite Radwan forces, which specialize in offensive operations, withdrew from the area immediately bordering Israel in recent weeks after a series of diplomatic efforts, but Monday’s attack took place almost 20 kilometers from the border.

Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) confirmed that an unmanned “Israeli” vehicle fired at least one missile at a vehicle on a road in the area Monday morning, killing two people, without providing further details.

Monday marks three months of crossfire between Hezbollah and Israeli troops, who are engaged in their worst outbreak of violence since the war in the summer of 2006.

Tensions rose further after a bombing attributed to Israel killed the number two of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, Saleh al Arouri, and six other people in a major Hezbollah stronghold on the outskirts of Beirut last Tuesday. EFE

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