Hezbollah commander 'killed in Israeli airstrike'
Israel's military claims the commander for Hezbollah's coastal sector has been killed in one of their airstrikes. They say he planned rocket attacks on Israel.
Tuesday 16 April 2024 18:16, UK
Israel has claimed a Hezbollah commander has been killed in an airstrike in Lebanon.
According to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), the commander of the militant group's coastal sector, Ismail Yusaf Baz, has been "eliminated" in a strike in the Ain Ebel area.
It claims one of its aircraft made the hit on the region roughly 7km north of the Israeli border.
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The commander had served as a senior official in several positions in Hezbollah's military wing and had planned rocket and anti-tank missile launches towards Israel from Lebanon's coastal area, the IDF said.
The Israeli military and Hezbollah exchanged fire on Tuesday, with the Iran-backed group injuring three in a drone attack, according to local reports.
Earlier, Hezbollah said it attacked Israel's Iron Dome air defence units in the area of Beit Hillel, claiming they made direct hits and had killed or wounded crew members.
Hezbollah has not yet commented on Israel's claims.
It comes as Israel's war cabinet prepares to meet for a fourth time since Saturday, as the country weighs up a response to Iran's retaliation on Saturday.
Tehran launched more than 300 missiles, cruise missiles and drones after Israel struck the Iranian embassy in Syria on 1 April.
International pressure to avoid further escalation is growing, but Israel's military chief of staff Herzi Halevi said the attack will be "met with a response".
Earlier on Tuesday, military spokesperson Daniel Hagari told Sky News Iran will not get off "scot-free".
There were no deaths reported in the attack, but a severely injured seven-year-old girl remains in an extremely serious condition, a doctor in the hospital where she is being treated has said.
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Tap hereAmina Hassouna was injured by shrapnel from an intercepted ballistic missile and is being treated at the Soroka Medical Centre.
She is on artificial ventilation, paediatric intensive care director Dr Isaac Lazar told The Times Of Israel.