The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) has said it has killed a senior Hezbollah leader in an air strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs. This comes as Israel rejected global calls on Thursday for a ceasefire.
The airstrike in the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahiyeh targeted and eliminated Mohammed Srur, who is said to be "the commander of Hezbollah's air unit". The militant group too confirmed Srur’s death in a statement released early Friday.
The IDF also sent a warplane to the edges of the capital Beirut, killing two people and wounding 15, bringing the death toll to over 600 since Monday.
The slain leader was considered one of the top advisors of the group who allegedly directed various aerial attacks on Israel, including explosive-laden drones and cruise missiles. He is also said to led Hezbollah’s drone manufacturing and establish sites in Lebanon. He was recently sent by Hezbollah to Yemen to train the country's Huthi rebels. Both Hezbollah and Houthis are backed by Iran.
This is the fourth attack on Hezbollah's top leadership in recent days. The IDF had recently killed missile chief Ibrahim Qubaisi and Ibrahim Aqil, the head of Hezbollah’s military operations.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi confirmed the killing and said they will continue to strike the Hezbollah. "We need to continue attacking Hezbollah. We have been waiting for this opportunity for years,” Halevi said. "We have constantly working to make achievements, to eliminate more senior officials, to thwart the transfer of weapons, to [destroy] Hezbollah’s firepower [capabilities], and to attack it in all of Lebanon," he added.
Israel said its warplanes targeted 220 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley on Thursday. Hezbollah too fired over 175 rockets at northern Israeli cities.
The IDF also added that it intercepted a missile that was fired from Yemen after sirens and explosions were heard early on Friday. "Following the sirens that sounded in central Israel, the surface-to-surface missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted by an 'Arrow' interceptor outside of Israeli territory," the army said in a statement. "There is currently no change to the IDF Defensive guidelines," it said.
Yemen's Houthi militants have also targeted Israel repeatedly since the Gaza war began. In July, the Houthis fired a drone at Tel Aviv for the first time, killing a man and wounding four people.