IDF Kills Hezbollah Spokesman in Lebanon

AP Photo/Hussein Malla

For the past two days, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have continued to wage a three-front war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Yemen's Houthi militants, who regularly fire rockets at Israel.

Thus, on Sunday, November 17, the IDF carried out a series of rare air strikes in the central part of the Lebanese capital, Beirut. One of the strikes destroyed a computer center, killing two people and wounding 22 others. According to the Israelis, this center was a Hezbollah cell. The target of the second precision strike was the office where, as it was reported, Hezbollah's chief spokesman, Mohammed Afif, was located at the time. The group's leadership confirmed the death of its high-ranking official. According to the IDF command, Afif “had a strong influence on the group's operations” and “glorified” Hezbollah. attacks by militants on Israel, the Voice of America reports.

The Lebanese Health Ministry reports that three people were killed along with Afif and another 14 – mostly passers-by on the street – were injured.

Since the start of the Israeli army's ground operation in Lebanon on October 1 this year, Lebanese authorities estimate the death toll at 3,400, but do not indicate how many of them are Hezbollah fighters. In parallel, on November 17, the IDF introduced mobile artillery batteries and armored forces into southern Lebanon and used them against the militants.

“Hezbollah has paid a high price, its command structure has collapsed, many militants have been eliminated, and large-scale infrastructure has been destroyed,” said IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevy. “If this organization continues to fire [at Israel], we will continue to fight according to our plan, advance forward and inflict deep, very sensitive blows on Hezbollah. We will stop only when we know that our residents of northern Israel can safely return to their homes.”.