Four, Including Hezbollah Leader, Fatally Struck in Naqoura

The Iran-supported Hezbollah movement declared on Thursday that four of its fighters, including a key local commander, were killed overnight in southern Lebanon. This statement follows reports from Lebanese state media attributing their deaths to Israeli strikes in the border town of Naqoura.

These fatalities come in the wake of an attack in Beirut earlier this week, which resulted in the death of a top Hamas leader, further escalating regional tensions amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Hezbollah, in its statement, referred to the deaths as occurring “on the road to Jerusalem,” a term it has used to denote casualties from Israeli attacks since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict on October 7. While details were sparse, a source close to Hezbollah confirmed to AFP that the individuals were indeed killed in Naqoura, near the Israeli border, and that one was the group’s local leader.

The Lebanese National News Agency reported that Israeli aircraft conducted raids in the center of Naqoura, leading to the destruction of a house and damage to nearby properties.

Since October 8, a day following the Hamas attacks, Hezbollah and Israeli forces have engaged in nearly daily exchanges of fire. Hezbollah also announced the deaths of five additional fighters in southern Lebanon on Wednesday.

In Lebanon, the ongoing cross-border hostilities have resulted in 175 deaths, including 129 Hezbollah fighters and over 20 civilians, with three journalists among them, as per an AFP tally. In northern Israel, primarily targeted by Hezbollah near the border, casualties include nine soldiers and five civilians, according to Israeli sources.

The recent strike in southern Beirut, which claimed the life of Hamas’s deputy leader, Saleh al-Arouri, and six others, was reportedly conducted by Israel, as told by a U.S. defense official to AFP. Arouri’s death marks the highest-ranking Hamas figure killed in the war and represents the first strike on the Lebanese capital since the hostilities began.

Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, in a Wednesday speech, cautioned Israel against initiating a war in Lebanon, asserting Hezbollah’s readiness to fight “without limits”. Several Hamas members in exile, under Hezbollah’s protection, reside in Lebanon.

Following the October 7 attack by Hamas, Israel has been committed to a decisive offensive against Hamas in Gaza, resulting in 22,313 deaths, predominantly women and children.