Hezbollah said on Tuesday that Israeli forces had killed one of its commanders in an attack in southern Lebanon, raising fears of an escalation of the conflict on another Israeli front.
Commander Taleb Abdallah, also known as Abu Taleb, is one of the highest-ranking Lebanese Hezbollah fighters killed by Israel since the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel sparked the war in the Gaza Strip and heightened tensions along Israel’s northern border.
Abdullah’s role in Hezbollah is unclear, but the group has not referred to its dead fighter as a “commander” since January. Wissam Hassan TawilThe commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan unit was killed in an attack. On Tuesday, Hezbollah released a photo of Abdullah and Tawiler in an apparent effort to show Abdullah’s seniority.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the attack.
Hezbollah Powerful Lebanese militias and political movements Backed by Iran, the two sides have been bombing each other along the border for much of the past eight months, forcing more than 150,000 people on both sides to flee their homes, but the intensity of the attacks has increased this month as top Israeli officials threatened further military action.
Israel has been targeting Hezbollah commanders with the goal of pushing the group north of Lebanon’s Litani River in the hope of preventing cross-border attacks and eventually allowing Israeli civilians displaced by the fighting Some experts doubt whether targeted killings can achieve this goal.
Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to take “very severe action” to “restore security in the north” during a visit to northern Israel after rockets fired by Hezbollah sparked wildfires that lasted for days.
In a sign of the intensifying conflict, Israel this week struck deeper into northeastern Lebanon than at any time since the Gaza war began. On Tuesday, the Israeli military said Hezbollah fired about 50 rockets into Israel from southern Lebanon.
In recent weeks, Hezbollah has for the first time begun targeting Israel’s proud Iron Dome missile defense system.
Hezbollah launched an attack on Israel on October 8, in response to Hamas’ call for a second front the day after its deadly attack on Israel. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said Hezbollah was seeking to pin Israeli forces to the border and limit their ability to attack Hamas in Gaza.
Hezbollah says more than 300 of its fighters have been killed in the latest round of fighting with Israel. The United Nations says about 80 Lebanese civilians have died. In Israel, authorities say 19 security personnel and at least eight civilians have been killed.
Euan Ward and Matthew Mpoko Biggar Contributed reporting.
