Israeli army claims killing Hezbollah commander in Beirut strike

The Israeli army claimed on Wednesday that it had killed Hajj Youssef Ismail Hashem, a commander of the Lebanese group Hezbollah, in a strike in Beirut a day earlier. Hashem was a commander of Hezbollah's "Southern Front," army spokesman Avichay Adraee claimed on X. Adraee also alleged that Hashem was engaged in fighting with Israeli forces in southern Lebanon and in launching rockets toward Israel. No response from Hezbollah was immediately available.

Targeted strikes in Beirut

The claimed killing follows repeated Israeli airstrikes on Beirut's Dahiyeh district, a Hezbollah stronghold. Early Wednesday, Israeli warplanes struck the area, with witnesses reporting explosions across the Lebanese capital. Earlier in the night, Israeli forces targeted vehicles in the Jnah area of Dahiyeh, killing at least five people and wounding 21, according to initial reports.

Conflict context

Israel has carried out airstrikes and a ground offensive in southern Lebanon since a cross-border attack by Hezbollah on March 2, despite a ceasefire that took effect in November 2024. Hezbollah has fired barrages of rockets into Israel since early March, saying the attacks are in response to continued Israeli strikes on Lebanon and the killing of Iran's then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on Feb. 28.

Mounting casualties

Lebanese authorities say at least 1,268 people have since been killed and 3,750 have been injured in Israeli attacks since March 2, with over one million displaced. The conflict is part of broader regional escalation following the US-Israeli offensive on Iran that began Feb. 28, which has killed over 1,340 people in Iran.