7 Hezbollah fighters killed in Israeli strikes

A Lebanese army soldier inspects the wreckage of a car that was targeted in Israeli strike early on Mar. 2, 2024, near the southern Lebanese town of Naqoura. (AFP)
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  • Three of the fighters died when their car was targeted by an Israeli drone early on Saturday on the coastal road from Al-Naqoura toward the city of Tyre

BEIRUT: Israeli air and drone strikes have killed seven Hezbollah fighters, including a field commander, in less than 24 hours.

Three of the fighters died when their car was targeted by an Israeli drone early on Saturday on the coastal road from Al-Naqoura toward the city of Tyre.

The car caught fire, killing all the occupants — field commander Hussein Badawi from Deir Qanun Al-Nahr, Abbas Khalil from Al-Sama’iyya, and Farouk Mohammed Harb from Al-Halusiya.

Another four fighters — Ali Shalhoub, Mohammed Ghebreyes, Mustafa Salman, and Ali Qasim — died on Friday night in Israeli air strikes on the towns of Aita Al-Shaab and Blida in Lebanon’s southern border region.

Avichay Adraee, spokesperson for the Israeli Army, said on X that Israeli Air Force planes destroyed a car carrying fighters who had launched rockets at Israeli territory.

“These individuals were affiliated with the Imam Hussein Brigade, which is linked to Iran and operates on behalf of Hezbollah,” he added.

Israeli artillery also targeted the outskirts of Labbouneh, Tayr Harfa, Al-Jebain, the Al-Wazzani area, and the southwestern neighborhoods of Mays Al-Jabal and Ramiya. Incendiary shells were fired by the Israeli Army near Al-Naqoura, Jabal Al-Labbouneh, and Alma Al-Shaab.

Israeli fighter jets remained in the skies above southern Lebanon and also flew at low altitude over Beirut’s southern suburbs on Saturday.

Hezbollah said that it launched a successful drone strike on a new Israeli sector headquarters in Liman, and also struck the Israeli military border site of Jal Al-Alam.

Brig. Gen. Pablo Gomez Lera, commander of UNIFIL forces in southern Lebanon’s eastern sector, met with Rawad Salloum, mayor of Hasbaya, to discuss the indiscriminate bombing of villages and towns in the area, the forced displacement of residents in border towns, and relief projects for those who remain.

He expressed his dismay at the expansion of military operations, but also said that he hoped a ceasefire would be in place before the likely start of Ramadan on March 11.

Mohammed Fneish, a former Hezbollah minister, warned the group will continue its operations against Israel.

Violence in Palestine must be addressed and efforts to halt the bloodshed prioritized over any discussions regarding peace, he said.

“Hezbollah sets the rules of engagement on Israel and it (Israel) cannot transcend these rules,” Fneish added.