Israeli airstrikes on south Lebanon kill top Hezbollah commanders

The Israeli army launched a series of airstrikes on southern Lebanon yesterday, as it announced that it had killed top Hezbollah commanders from a special unit.

Hussein Ali Nasr, who reportedly served as deputy commander in Hezbollah's Unit 4400, was killed when his vehicle was struck in the village of Kawthariyat al-Siyad in the Zahrani district.

"During his role, Nasr operated to smuggle weapons and funds into the State of Lebanon in order to rebuild the Hezbollah terrorist organisation's military capabilities," the Israeli military claimed in a statement on Sunday.

It reported that Nasr worked with Iranian operatives to facilitate the transfer of arms and funds into Lebanon, including the Beirut airport – an accusation Hezbollah and Tehran have long denied.

Nasr also "promoted and led weapons procurement deals with smugglers along the Syria-Lebanon border", the statement added.

Muhammad Jaafar Qasir, an alleged commander of Unit 4400, was also killed along with his deputy, Ali Hassan Gharib, the Israeli army said.

In the border village of Houla, another man was killed when he was targeted on his motorbike. The man was identified as Bashir Ayoub, another Hezbollah member.

The group confirmed the latest killings in a customary notice identifying its fallen fighters, and called for public participation in their funerals.

More Israeli airstrikes were conducted on the region of Arnoun, close to Yohmor a-Shqif, only some kilometres away from the border with Israel. The Israeli army claimed it hit Hezbollah rocket launchers and other infrastructure.

Separately, in the southern village of Braiqah on Sunday, a Lebanese army officer and two soldiers were killed after munitions they were carrying in their vehicle from last year's war blew up.

A mother and her son who were passing by at the time of the blast also died.

The Lebanese army said it was investigating the incident and identified the three personnel killed as Lt. Mahmoud Ahmed Zeitoun, Ali Ibrahim Ahmad, and Jawdat Salim Noura.

Despite the 27 November ceasefire deal, which ended more than a year of cross-border hostilities, including a two-month all-out war, Israel has continued to launch attacks on parts of Lebanon, including two last month on Beirut’s southern suburbs.

It vows to stop the Iran-backed Shia Hezbollah group from rebuilding itself, and claims to be assassinating its commanders, personnel, weapons and other infrastructure.

Several civilians have also been killed in the attacks.

Under the US-brokered ceasefire agreement, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters north of Lebanon's Litani River and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south, which the Lebanese army has been doing.

The army is said to have dismantled most of Hezbollah’s positions, including weapon storage and tunnels, as it gradually deploys across south Lebanon alongside UN peacekeepers.

Israel was to completely withdraw all its forces, but instead it has maintained troops in five strategic hilltops along the border, saying it will remain "indefinitely" until Hezbollah is fully disarmed.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam have repeatedly called on the US and other states to pressure Israel to end its occupation.

Aoun and Salam have vowed a state monopoly on all arms in Lebanon. Lebanese media reports in recent weeks have also spoken of plans to disarm factions in the country’s Palestinian refugee camps, including Hamas and other Islamist groups.