Israeli airstrikes kill senior Hezbollah commanders amid ongoing northern border tensions

Three senior Hezbollah commanders were confirmed killed in Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Wednesday.

Among the targeted were Ayman Muhammad Nabulsi, an anti-tank missile unit head, and Hajj Ali Yussef Salah, commander of the Tebnit area, along with a third commander, responsible for significant rocket attacks on northern Israel, in the Ghajar area.

These strikes form part of Israel’s efforts to neutralise Hezbollah’s capabilities in southern Lebanon amid intensified border hostilities.

A series of recent airstrikes also destroyed Hezbollah’s weapons storage and production sites in Beirut's Dahieh district, significantly reducing the group's capacity for missile production.

Dahieh, a stronghold for Hezbollah, harbours a network of underground sites used to manufacture and store weapons near civilian areas, a practice the IDF says endangers local residents. IDF intelligence has traced these facilities to funds and guidance from Iran, which Israel argues bolsters Hezbollah's long-range missile program aimed at striking Israeli territories.

Since October 7, following a series of attacks by Hamas, Hezbollah has launched daily rocket and drone strikes on northern Israel. The ongoing conflict has displaced over 68,000 northern Israeli residents.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu previously highlighted Hezbollah’s stockpile of weapons in Dahieh at a United Nations address in 2020, calling attention to the risks posed to Lebanese civilians living in close proximity to such sites.