IDF eliminates 2 senior Hezbollah commanders after drone attack wounds 3 Israelis

DM Gallant: ‘Israeli aircraft operate everywhere’ in the Middle East

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Israel Defense Forces eliminated two senior commanders of the terror group Hezbollah in airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Tuesday afternoon.

The IDF identified the first killed commander as Ismail Yousef Baz, the commander of the Lebanese coastal region and of a rank equivalent to an IDF brigade commander.

He was eliminated in an airstrike while traveling in a vehicle in the area of Ain Baal, east of the city of Tyre.

מוקדם יותר היום צה״ל תקף וחיסל באמצעות כלי טיס של חיל האוויר במרחב עין בעאל שבלבנון את המחבל איסמאעיל יוסף באז, מפקד גזרת החוף בארגון הטרור.

איסמאעיל שימש כגורם בכיר וותיק בזרוע הצבאית של חיזבאללה במספר תפקידים. דרגתו הנוכחית מקבילה לדרגת מח"ט >> pic.twitter.com/UzL6qkqGu0
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) April 16, 2024

Baz’s activities included the planning and execution of rocket and missile attacks against Israel from his area of responsibility. During the war, he also organized and planned several terrorist attacks.

He is the sixth brigade-level commander eliminated by the IDF during the war.

Some hours later, Lebanese sources reported a second Israeli airstrike on two vehicles in the town of Chehabiye. Israel’s Army Radio reported that the target was another Hezbollah field commander.

Lebanese media report another Israeli drone strike against a car, this time in the town of Chehabiyeh. pic.twitter.com/iOVMlrKgeb
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 16, 2024

The IDF later identified him as a commander in Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, responsible for its rocket array in the central and western parts of southern Lebanon.

Together with him, another operative of the Radwan Force's rocket array was killed, the army added.

The targeted strikes were a response to a drone attack earlier in the day that wounded three Israelis near Beit Hillel, near the northern town of Kiryat Shmona. The IDF confirmed that two drones exploded, and wounded three people and that the incident was under investigation.

Footage circulating on social media shows a drone flying over the Galilee Panhandle, with initial reports saying it exploded in the Beit Hillel area. The IDF has not yet commented on the incident. pic.twitter.com/xeKURvg3vF
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 16, 2024

Hezbollah took responsibility for the attack, claiming it had targeted an Iron Dome battery near Beit Hillel.

After the targeted elimination of its commanders, Hezbollah responded by firing several rocket salvos at Israeli communities near Kiryat Shmona, the Western Galilee region, as well as Mount Meron, where a strategic Air Force radar station is located.

Sirens sound in the Meron area following a rocket attack from Lebanon. Footage shows projectiles striking the mountainside, atop which sits an IDF air traffic control base. pic.twitter.com/2GXk3Fw9ab
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 16, 2024

Several rockets were intercepted and the rest fell into open areas, causing no significant damage or injuries.

The IDF later announced that it had conducted several waves of airstrikes against Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon in the areas of Alma al-Sha’ab, Hanin and Yaroun.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant visited the northern border on Tuesday to hold an operations assessment with senior IDF officials and troops operating in the Western Galilee region.

They discussed “the importance of the operational activity conducted to drive Hezbollah forces away from the border area,” and Gallant lauded the Israeli troops for their performance, according to an IDF statement.

“The Iranians will not be able to establish a new status of deterrence against the State of Israel. IAF aircraft operate everywhere – the skies of the Middle East are ‘open,’ and any enemy that fights us will be hit, no matter where they may be,” Gallant emphasized.

“I see what you [referring to the troops] are doing, and I am convinced that we will reach the stage when our citizens will be able to return to their homes safely – we will achieve this either via military action or via an agreement. It is always better to [reach] an agreement, but we are preparing for all possibilities,” the defense minister added.