The Israel Air Force eliminated Ahmed Jafar Maatouk a.k.a Habib Maatouk, a commander of Hezbollah's elite fighting unit, on Friday, Tel Aviv said on Sunday. Habib Maatouk was the commander of the Iran-backed organisation in the Bint Jbeil area of southern Lebanon, the Israel Defense Force (IDF) said. Several other Hezbollah operatives, including those next to Maatouk in seniority, lost their lives in the strike, Israel claimed.
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While Hezbollah confirmed the death of Habib Maatouk, it didn't speak about his ranks and responsibilities in the organisation. However, IDF claims that his death is a major blow to the outfit, which now stands headless in the region.
Ahmed Jafar Maatouk was a senior commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force in southern Lebanon, The Times Of Israel said in a report. Maatouk took over as the Radwan unit's commander after Israel had killed his predecessor Ali Ahmed Hussein in April. He was attached to the Hajjar regional unit of the Radwan force that was behind the attacks on northern Israel’s Ramim Ridge region. Hezbollah had fired rockets and drones towards Ramin Ridge amidst the war in Gaza, the TOI report said.
The IDF revealed that Maatouk and his comrades were killed in an airstrike on the southern Lebanon town of Jmaijmeh on Thursday night. The Hezbollah members were at a three-storey building at the time of the aerial strike.
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On Thursday, Israel had also confirmed the elimination of Hamas commander Muhammed Jabara in Gaza. Meanwhile, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday claimed that Hamas and Hezbollah are no longer an effective tool that can be used by Iran to hurt Israel