The occupation army announces the assassination of a senior Hezbollah official in southern Lebanon

The Israeli army announced that it was able to eliminate the leader of the Lebanese Hezbollah, Khader Saeed Hashem, in an air strike in the Qana area in southern Lebanon, while the Israeli media described it as the largest assassination operation since the ceasefire between the two sides.

The Israeli military said in a statement Tuesday evening that the air force carried out the raid earlier in the day and was able to kill Hashem, whom it described as the commander of the naval unit in Hezbollah's Radwan Force.

The statement added that Hashem played a major role in "maritime smuggling operations" and was responsible for planning and executing attacks against Israel.

Channel 12 Israel said that Khader Hashem is the most senior Hezbollah leader assassinated by Israel since the ceasefire agreement began.

Earlier, the Civil Defense in southern Lebanon announced the killing of a person when an Israeli drone targeted a car in the town of Rashkananiyeh.

Hezbollah did not immediately issue an official confirmation or denial of the Israeli account of the assassination of a leader in its ranks.

Since November 27, a ceasefire has prevailed between Hezbollah and Israel, after the military confrontation that began with mutual shelling on October 8, 2023, and developed into a large-scale war on Lebanon in September 2024, resulting in a total of more than 4,000 deaths and 16,000 wounded.

Israel insisted on occupying 5 sites in southern Lebanon despite the agreement stipulating the withdrawal of its forces.

Source: Al Jazeera + Israeli press