Beirut: Israel announced on Thursday that it eliminated a senior commander from Hezbollah’s elite Radwan unit in an airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Wednesday – marking the initial Israeli raid on the city since the ceasefire took hold last month, Reuters reported.
According to the Israeli military, the strike targeted the commander directly in the southern outskirts. Hezbollah has yet to verify the claim. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz disclosed the action through a joint statement on Wednesday.
This development intensifies strains on the ceasefire, which paused assaults on Beirut despite ongoing Israeli troop presence south of the Litani River and strikes in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah, an Iranian ally, has countered those operations with rocket and drone attacks on Israeli positions.
Truce Linked to Broader Iran Tensions
Lebanon’s ceasefire supports a larger pause in the Iran-Israel conflict, as stopping strikes on Beirut formed a central Iranian condition during Tehran’s discussions with Washington.
Earlier on Wednesday, Israel issued evacuation orders for multiple villages north of the Litani River, signaling a potential broadening of its operational reach. Diplomatic exchanges between Israel and Lebanon persist, primarily through ambassadors.
Top-Tier Talks Too Early
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Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam stated on Wednesday that “it was premature to talk of any high-level meeting between Lebanon and Israel,” according to Lebanon’s National News Agency. He added that “shoring up a ceasefire would be the basis for any new negotiations between Lebanese and Israeli government envoys in Washington.”
Washington facilitated two rounds of talks last month between the Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors to the US, moves Hezbollah has vehemently opposed. Hezbollah’s October 2 border attack in solidarity with Iran sparked the war, prompting Salam’s administration and President Joseph Aoun to launch Beirut’s most direct Israel engagement in decades – highlighting splits with the Shi’ite faction.
On April 23, announcing a three-week Lebanon-Israel ceasefire renewal, US President Donald Trump voiced optimism about hosting Netanyahu and Aoun soon, declaring he saw “a great chance” for a peace agreement this year.
Cross-Border Exchanges Escalate
Israel has established a security buffer extending as far as 10 km into southern Lebanon to safeguard northern communities from Hezbollah fighters concealed among civilians.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported on Wednesday that an Israeli airstrike in Zelaya town killed four, including two women and an elderly man. Israel stated Hezbollah launched explosive drones and rockets at its soldiers in the south, injuring two; its air force downed a hostile drone en route to Israel and struck Hezbollah targets across Lebanon.
Lebanon’s war death toll exceeds 2,700 since March 2, says the Health Ministry. Israel reports Hezbollah unleashing hundreds of rockets and drones since then, with 17 soldiers lost in southern Lebanon and two civilians in northern Israel.