The seven top Hezbollah commanders killed by Israel – and who’s next up

In just over a week, intensified Israeli strikes in Lebanon killed seven high-ranking commanders and officials from the powerful Hezbollah militant group, including the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

The move left Lebanon and much of the Middle East in shock as Israeli officials celebrated major military and intelligence breakthroughs.

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.Credit: AP

The recent strikes in Lebanon and the assassination of Nasrallah are a significant escalation in the war in the Middle East, this time between Israel and Hezbollah.

Lebanon’s most powerful military and political force – officially listed as a terrorist organisation in Australia and other countries – now finds itself trying to recuperate from severe blows, having lost key members who have been part of Hezbollah since its establishment in the early 1980s.

Hassan Nasrallah

Since 1992, Nasrallah had led the group through several wars with Israel, and oversaw the party’s transformation into a powerful player in Lebanon. Hezbollah entered Lebanon’s political arena while also taking part in regional conflicts that made it the most powerful paramilitary force.

After Syria’s uprising 2011 spiralled into civil war, Hezbollah played a pivotal role in keeping Syrian President Bashar Asad in power. Under Nasrallah, Hezbollah also helped develop the capabilities of fellow Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq and Yemen.

Nasrallah is a divisive figure in Lebanon, with his supporters hailing him for ending Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon in 2000, and his opponents decrying him for the group’s weapons stockpile and making unilateral decisions that they say serves an agenda for Tehran and allies.

Nabil Kaouk

Hezbollah official Sheik Nabil Kaouk.Credit: AP

Kaouk, who was killed in an airstrike Saturday, was the deputy head of Hezbollah’s Central Council. He joined the militant group in its early days in the 1980s.

Kaouk also served as Hezbollah’s military commander in south Lebanon from 1995 until 2010.

He made several media appearances and gave speeches to supporters, including in funerals for killed Hezbollah militants. He had been seen as a potential successor to Nasrallah.

Ibrahim Akil

Hezbollah members salute near the coffin of Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Akil.Credit: AP

Akil was a top commander and led Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Forces, which Israel has been trying to push further away from its border with Lebanon. He was also a member of its highest military body, the Jihad Council, and for years had been on the United States’ wanted list. The US State Department says Akil was part of the group that carried out the 1983 bombing of the US Embassy in Beirut and orchestrated the taking of German and American hostages.

Ahmad Wehbe

Wehbe was a commander of the Radwan Forces and played a crucial role in developing the group since its formation almost two decades ago. He was killed alongside Akil in an airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs that struck and leveled a building.

Ali Karaki

Karaki led Hezbollah’s southern front, playing a key role in the ongoing conflict. The US described him as a significant figure in the militant group’s leadership. Little is known about Karaki, who was killed alongside Nasrallah.

Mohammad Surour

Surour was the head of Hezbollah’s drone unit, which was used for the first time in this current conflict with Israel. Under his leadership, Hezbollah launched exploding and reconnaissance drones deep into Israel, penetrating its defense systems which had mostly focused on the group’s rockets and missiles.

Ibrahim Kobeissi

Kobeissi led Hezbollah’s missile unit. The Israeli military says Kobeissi planned the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli soldiers at the northern border in 2000, whose bodies were returned in a prisoner swap with Hezbollah four years later.

Who is left?

Nasrallah’s second-in-command Naim Kassem is the most senior member of the organisation. Kassem has been Hezbollah’s deputy leader since 1991, and is among its founding members. On several occasions, local news networks were quick to assume that an Israeli strike in southern Beirut may have targeted Kassem.

Kassem is the only top official of the militant group who has conducted interviews with local and international media in the ongoing conflict. The deputy leader appears to be involved in various aspects of the militant group, both in top political and security matters, but also in matters related to Hezbollah’s theocratic and charity initiatives to the Shia Muslim community in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Hashim Safieddine who heads Hezbollah’s central council, is tipped to be Nasrallah’s successor. Safieddine is a cousin of the late Hezbollah leader, and his son is married to the daughter of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in 2020. Like Nasrallah, Safieddine joined Hezbollah early on and similarly wears a black turban.

Talal Hamieh and Abu Ali Reda are the two remaining top commanders from Hezbollah who are alive and apparently in the Israeli military’s crosshairs.

AP

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