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Senior Hezbollah Commander in Southern Lebanon Killed in Israeli Strike - Reports

© AP Photo / Mohammad ZaatariSmoke rises after Israeli air strikes on the outskirts of Khiam, a town near the Lebanese-Israeli border
Smoke rises after Israeli air strikes on the outskirts of Khiam, a town near the Lebanese-Israeli border - Sputnik International, 1920, 09.01.2024
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A senior commander of Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah responsible for dozens of drone attacks across northern Israel in recent months has been killed in southern Lebanon as a result of an Israeli airstrike, The Times of Israel newspaper reported on Tuesday.
The individual killed was the commander of Hezbollah's aerial forces in southern Lebanon, Ali Hussein Barji. He was reportedly struck while driving in the town of Kherbet Selem just before the funeral of another senior Hezbollah commander, Wissam al-Tawil.
Later in the day, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed Barji's death.

"Today [Tuesday], an IAF aircraft eliminated Ali Hussein Barji, the Commander of the Southern Lebanon Region of Hezbollah's Aerial Unit. Ali led dozens of terror activities against Israel using explosive UAVs and surveillance UAVs against Israel and IDF soldiers. Ali also led the attack against the headquarters of the IDF Northern Command earlier today," the IDF said in a statement.

Before striking at Barji, the Israeli military destroyed "a launch cell belonging to Hezbollah's Aerial Unit which was on its way to launch explosive UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] toward different locations in Israel," the IDF added.
Earlier in the day, Hezbollah said that it had struck an Israeli military base using drones in retaliation for the recent killings of senior commanders by Israeli forces.
The situation in southern Lebanon deteriorated after the start of Israel's military operation in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli army and Hezbollah fighters regularly exchange fire in areas along the border.
In this photo released by the Israeli army, Israeli soldiers walk towards the northern Gaza Strip as seen from the Israeli border with Gaza, Monday, Jan. 12, 2009. - Sputnik International, 1920, 08.11.2023
Analysis
'Catastrophic' Mistake for US to Let Israel Draw It Into War With Hezbollah and Iran
On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip while its fighters breached the border, attacking both civilian neighborhoods and military bases. As a result, over 1,200 people in Israel were killed and some 240 others abducted. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza and launched a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. Over 23,000 people have been killed so far in Gaza as a result of Israeli strikes, local authorities said.
On November 24, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire was extended several times and expired on December 1. Over 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza.
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