Nearly 400 Hezbollah Members Killed in 10 Months

Over the past ten months, the ongoing cross-border conflict between Hezbollah and Israeli forces has resulted in the deaths of senior commanders and hundreds of Hezbollah fighters, while causing significant destruction and displacing tens of thousands on both sides.

Hezbollah has lost more fighters since October than during its previous conflict with Israel in the summer of 2006.

Here’s a closer look at the increasing toll on the group, which has been engaging in near-daily exchanges of fire with the Israeli army in support of Hamas, following the Palestinian militant group’s attack on Israel on October 7 that sparked the Gaza war.

 

Commanders Killed

Recent Israeli strikes have targeted and killed key Hezbollah commanders. The most senior among them was Fouad Shukur, Hezbollah’s top operations chief in southern Lebanon, who was killed in a raid on Beirut’s southern suburbs on July 30. Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate for his death.

Earlier in January, Wissam Tawil, a commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, was killed in an Israeli strike on his vehicle in southern Lebanon.

Two of Hezbollah’s three area commanders in southern Lebanon, Mohammad Nasser and Taleb Abdallah, have also been killed. Following the 2006 war, Hezbollah divided its southern operations into three areas, each with its own military formation, commander, personnel, and capabilities, according to Hezbollah’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

Nasser, commander of the Aziz unit in the western sector south of the Litani River, was killed in an Israeli strike last month. Abdallah, commander of the Nasr unit in the eastern sector, was killed the previous month. The third sector, north of the Litani River up to Sidon, is covered by Hezbollah’s Badr unit.

Israel has claimed responsibility for the deaths of additional Hezbollah fighters, whom it has identified as “commanders.”

 

Casualties

The ongoing violence has claimed the lives of approximately 570 people in Lebanon, most of whom were Hezbollah fighters, along with several militants from allied groups such as Hamas. At least 118 civilians are among the dead, according to an AFP count.

On the Israeli side, including the annexed Golan Heights, the conflict has resulted in the deaths of 22 soldiers and 26 civilians, as reported by the Israeli military.

Hezbollah has officially announced the deaths of more than 370 of its members in Lebanon, with the group typically referring to them as “martyred on the road to Jerusalem,” a phrase used to describe those killed in Israeli strikes.

Additionally, 25 Hezbollah fighters have been killed in Syria, where Israel has conducted strikes on military positions and pro-Iran fighters, aiming to disrupt Hezbollah’s supply lines from Tehran to Lebanon.

The majority of the slain Hezbollah fighters—around 320—were from southern Lebanon, with about 60 from the eastern Bekaa Valley near the Syrian border.

 

Hezbollah Operations

Hezbollah has stated that its objective is to divert Israeli military resources to Israel’s northern front in support of Hamas. The escalating attacks have raised concerns about a broader conflict, especially following the death of Shukur.

Earlier this month, Hezbollah reported that it had conducted 2,500 “military operations” against Israel since October, targeting border positions and military barracks with various weapons, including artillery, rockets, guided missiles, and air defense systems.

The group has also released videos showing surveillance drone footage of potential targets in northern Israel and the annexed Golan Heights, as well as sensitive areas around the port city of Haifa. These videos are seen as a possible indication of Hezbollah’s preparedness in the event of an all-out war.