Israel kills brother of key Hezbollah member

BEIRUT: The Israeli army on Thursday morning launched an intensive aerial attack on Kafra, southern Lebanon, in which the brother of an important Hezbollah member was killed.

In a statement, Hezbollah’s military media wing announced the death of Abbas Anis Ayoub, who was born in 1988 and is from Selaa, southern Lebanon.

The Ministry of Health’s Emergency Operations Center confirmed Ayoub’s death, adding that the attack injured another person.

Security reports said that the Israeli army carried out at least three raids to target Ayoub.

Footage on social media showed a house on fire as a result of the attack, which was followed by further Israeli raids, increasing the intensity of the fire.

It seems Abbas Ayoub is the brother of Hussein Ayoub, who is considered the founder of Hezbollah’s air force.

Abbas worked as an engineer before joining the militant group.

Hussein Ayoub was 24 when he was killed by an explosive device during a Hezbollah operation against an Israeli patrol in southern Lebanon, which was under Israeli occupation at the time.

Israeli warplanes and artillery continued operations in southern border villages, including Aita Al-Shaab, Kfarkila and Mays Al-Jabal.

A woman was killed and two civilians were injured on Wednesday night by Israeli shelling of residential neighborhoods in Qabrikha and in the vicinity of Tallouseh, Bani Haiyyan, Qantara and Wadi Saluki.

Three people were injured in an Israeli raid on Houla and the Health Ministry said a 12-year-old child was among the injured in Qabrikha.

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said that its aircraft attacked sites in Jebbayn, Zawtar Al-Charkieh, and Ramyeh.

He added that "more than 10 Hezbollah military infrastructures and launch pads were attacked, as they were posing a threat to Israeli civilians.”

Israeli media reported “an explosion of a drone in the Yara area in Western Galilee,” and “damage inside the settlement of Ramot Naftali in Upper Galilee after rockets fell inside the settlement.”

A new statistic circulated by Israeli media revealed that, between January and the end of August, “the total number of rockets fired (toward Isarel) was 6,611, with the lowest number of rockets in January when 334 rockets were fired.”

Israeli Army Radio said that 1,307 rockets were launched from Lebanon toward Israel during August, “averaging 40 rockets a day,” the highest rate of rockets fired since the start of the war.  

Statistics on rocket fire from Lebanon toward Israel since the beginning of the year show 1,091 rockets were fired in July, 855 in June, 1,000 in May, 744 in April, 746 in March, and 534 in February.

Maj. Gen. Mohammed Khair, head of the Higher Relief Committee, ruled out conducting a damage survey in southern Lebanon at present or calling on people to return “because Israel is treacherous, and the psychological war has become one of its constant characteristics.”

Khair added: “We cannot expose the lives of HRC employees and Lebanese Army personnel to the risk of Israeli shelling while they are conducting inspection, survey and assessment work. Until we are sure that everything is over and the situation is under control, we will not tell the people of the south to return to their homes and institutions. Otherwise, we would jeopardize their lives and put them at risk.”

He emphasized “the necessity of securing the financial coverage for their return ‘internationally’ as a first step and making a clear, correct decision regarding their return. Then, we will call on the displaced citizens to return to their villages.”

Khair denied the existence of any funds allocated by HRC or the government to compensate southerners affected by the Israeli aggression.

But he said funds had been allocated to help displaced people from the south to the villages of Sidon and the north, to support them.

Regarding the possibility of securing compensation for those affected, Khair said: “Nothing is clear yet. It is not known from where the required funds will be secured.”