Israel’s military says it has killed yet another high level member of Hezbollah with an airstrike on Sunday.
The IDF says the strike killed Nabil Kaouk, the deputy head of Hezbollah’s Central Council, though they did not offer details on where the strike took place. The claim comes just days after an IDF strike killed Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
Israel and Hezbollah have continued to fire barrages of missiles and rockets toward one another as they appear to be on the brink of all-out war.
Hezbollah began its offensive immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed or captured. Israel has responded by launching its own airstrikes and massing forces at its northern border with Lebanon.
Israel was forced to evacuate some 60,000 citizens who were living near the border with Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that the campaign against Hezbollah will not stop until those citizens can return safely to their homes.
ISRAEL TARGETS HEZBOLLAH LEADER NASRALLAH IN STRIKE ON BEIRUT HEADQUARTERS
Meanwhile, Hezbollah says it will only cease its hostilities once Israel has agreed to a cease-fire in Gaza, a deal that has proven almost impossible in recent months.
Hundreds of thousands of people have likewise been driven from their homes in Lebanon. The government estimates that around 250,000 are in shelters, with three to four times as many staying with friends or relatives, or camping out on the streets, Environment Minister Nasser Yassin told The Associated Press.
Israel has killed a slew of top Hezbollah and Hamas commanders with airstrikes throughout the conflict.
On Friday, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters, “The United States was not involved in Israel’s operation,” noting there was “no advance warning,” from the Israelis about the strike on Nasrallah.
Netanyahu cut short his trip to New York following his speech to the United Nations General Assembly where he warned Hezbollah about Israel’s right to go on the offensive.
“As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice, and Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their home safely and that’s exactly what we’re doing,” he said.
The IDF later released a graphic suggesting that nearly all of Hezbollah’s top commanders have been killed.
The Associated Press contributed to this report