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There have been weekly exchanges of fire on the Israeli-Lebanese border for six months
Photo: Ali Hashisho / dpa
Six months of war of attrition: The Israeli army has reported the killing of a senior member of the Hezbollah militia in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military announced on Friday that the deputy commander of Hezbollah's missile unit, Ali Abdel Hassan Naim, was "eliminated" in an attack by the Israeli Air Force in Basuriye. Among other things, he was “responsible for carrying out and planning attacks on Israeli civilians.”
The Lebanese state news agency (NNA) had previously reported that an attack by an "enemy drone" had hit a car in Basurije and killed at least one person. Lebanese military circles reported that the victim was a “Hezbollah official.”
The pro-Iranian Shiite militia said seven of its fighters were killed by Israeli fire - including one it identified as Naim. Hezbollah did not say when or where the fighters died. An AFP reporter reported a destroyed vehicle and scattered debris in Basuriye. The authorities cordoned off the area.
Since the war between Israel and the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas began on October 7th, there have been almost daily battles between Israeli soldiers and Hezbollah fighters in the border area between Israel and Lebanon. The Hamas-allied militia has repeatedly said it will not stop its attacks against Israel until there is a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
At least 347 people were killed in the fighting in Lebanon, mainly Hezbollah fighters. According to an AFP count, at least 68 civilians also died. According to the army, ten soldiers and eight civilians were killed on the Israeli side.
dop/AFP