Israel-Hamas war: Israel strike kills top Hezbollah commander in Lebanon

A top commander in Hezbollah’s al-Hajj Radwan Force has been killed in southern Lebanon, the terrorist organisation has confirmed. Take our poll.

A top commander in Hezbollah’s al-Hajj Radwan Force has been killed in southern Lebanon, the terrorist organisation has confirmed.

Hussein Ibrahim Kassab was killed as he rode a motorcycle through the coastal city of Tyre,

The Israel Defense Forces released aerial footage showing the drone strike that is believed to have taken out Kassab.

Kassab’s death marks the 412th killing of a Hezbollah operative since October 7, the IDF said.

It came as an Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon killed 10 Syrians, as the Israeli military reported hitting weapons stores of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement.

The toll from the strike in the Nabatieh area on Saturday is one of the largest in southern Lebanon since Hezbollah and Israeli forces began exchanging near-daily fire over their border after war in the Gaza Strip began in October.

International mediators have been trying to reach a Gaza ceasefire between Israel and Hamas Palestinian militants, which diplomats say could help to avert a wider war in which Lebanon would be on the front line.

A man inspects the damage to a building after an Israeli strike in the southern town of Kfour, in the Nabatiyeh district, on August 17. Picture: AFP

The death toll from the latest strike included “a woman and her two children” while five other people were wounded, most of them also Syrian, Lebanon’s health ministry said in a statement.

The official Lebanese National News Agency reported that the casualties were Syrian refugees and workers.

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike in al-Zawayda in the central Gaza Strip on August 17, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas. Picture: AFP

Israel’s military, on its Telegram channel, said the air force had struck a weapons storage facility of Lebanon’s Hezbollah overnight “in the area of Nabatieh”, which is about 12 kilometres from the nearest point of the Israeli border.

A man inspects the damage to a building after an Israeli strike in the southern town of Kfour, in the Nabatiyeh district, on August 17. Picture: AFP

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ISRAEL HIT OTHER TARGETS

Israeli artillery hit other targets near the border in southern Lebanon, the military said, after air strikes Friday on “Hezbollah military structures” near Hanine and Maroun el-Ras in southern Lebanon.

The killings in quick succession in late July of Fuad Shukr, a top operations chief of Hezbollah in south Lebanon, and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh, led to vows of vengeance from Hezbollah, Iran and other Tehran-backed groups in the region which blamed Israel.

Israel claimed the killing of Shukr, in a strike on south Beirut, but has not commented directly on the killing of Haniyeh while he visited Tehran.

BIDEN SAYS CEASEFIRE IN SIGHT

US President Joe Biden said that a ceasefire deal in the Gaza war has never been closer after Washington tried to bridge differences between Israel and Hamas in talks in Doha.

“We are closer than we have ever been,” Mr Biden said. “I don’t want to jinx anything ... but we may have something.”

“I received an update from my negotiating team on the ground in Doha and directed them to put forward the comprehensive bridging proposal presented today, which offers the basis for coming to a final agreement on a ceasefire and hostage release deal.

“I spoke separately with Amir Sheikh Tamim and President Sisi to review the significant progress made in Doha over the past two days of talks, and they expressed the strong support of Qatar and Egypt for the US proposal as co-mediators in this process.

US President Joe Biden says negotiations for a ceasefire are closer than ever. Picture: AFP

“Our teams will remain on the ground to continue technical work over the coming days, and senior officials will convene again in Cairo before the end of the week. They will report to me regularly.

“I am sending Secretary Blinken to Israel to reaffirm my iron-clad support for Israel’s security, continue our intensive efforts to conclude this agreement and to underscore that with the comprehensive ceasefire and hostage release deal now in sight, no one in the region should take actions to undermine this process.”

Negotiators seeking a Gaza ceasefire were set to meet for a second day in Qatar, while top European diplomats were expected in Israel to stress the urgency of averting a wider war.

The on-and-off truce talks reconvened in Qatar’s capital on Thursday without Hamas, which has accused Israel of obstructing a deal and insists on the implementation of previously agreed terms.

Months of talks have yet to secure the return of hostages held by militants in Gaza or staunch the spiralling death toll, which authorities in Hamas-ruled Gaza on Thursday said had topped 40,000 in the Palestinian territory after more than 10 months of war.

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the talks had “a promising start” but acknowledged “there remains a lot of work to do”.

Israeli troops operating on the ground in the Gaza Strip amid the continuing conflict between Israel and Hamas. Picture: AFP

Israel’s main military supplier the United States has been mediating the talks with Qatar and Egypt.

The United States and its allies see the proposed Gaza truce as key to de-escalating soaring regional tensions, particularly with Iran.

“This is a dangerous moment for the Middle East. The risk of the situation spiralling out of control is rising,” British Foreign Secretary David Lamy said ahead of his visit with French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne.

During meetings with Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, they would “stress there is no time for delays or excuses from all parties on a ceasefire deal” in Gaza, according to Britain’s foreign ministry.

Sejourne said “any miscalculation in the current situation could provoke a generalised conflagration”.

While talks take place in the Gulf emirate, bombs have continued to fall in Gaza.

AUSSIES IN ISRAEL PREPARING BOMB SHELTERS

Australians living in Israel are preparing their bomb shelters ahead of an imminent attack from Iran, with its leader warning of “divine wrath” if it backs down.

Israel remains on high alert after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei demanded a retaliation to the assassination of Hamas chairman Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Emily Gian, who moved to Israel in July last year with her husband Tomer and three children, have been bracing for an Iranian attack.

Originally published as Israel-Hamas war: Israel strike kills top Hezbollah commander in Lebanon