Israel says another Hezbollah commander killed in Beirut strike

ANKARA

The Israeli army claimed Sunday to have killed another Hezbollah commander in an airstrike in the southern suburb of Beirut.

A military statement said Nabil Qaouk was killed in a strike on Saturday, describing him as the head of Hezbollah’s preventive security unit.

The Israeli army accused Qaouk of involvement in attacks against Israelis in recent days.

There was no immediate response from Hezbollah on the Israeli claim, which came two days after the assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli strike in the Lebanese capital on Friday.

The Israeli army has pounded Lebanon since Sept. 17, killing at least 816 people and injuring over 2,500, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.

Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in cross-border warfare since the start of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed nearly 41,600 people, mostly women and children, following a cross-border attack by Hamas last Oct. 7.

At least 1,673 people have since been killed, including 194 women and 104 children, and over 8,600 others injured, according to Lebanese authorities.

The international community has warned that Israeli attacks in Lebanon could escalate the ongoing Gaza conflict into a wider regional war.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi