Jerusalem, Aug 18 (IANS) The Israeli military said on Tuesday that it had killed an Islamic Jihad commander in the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, the military identified the commander as Tareq Anwar Khamis Ra’i, a company commander in the group’s supply unit. It said he was killed in an airstrike Sunday in the Khan Yunis area of southern Gaza, adding that he “advanced terror attacks against troops.”
According to the Gaza health authorities, Israeli attacks have killed at least 73,399 people and injured 174,310 others in Gaza since October 2023.
Earlier on Sunday, the Israeli military said an Israeli airstrike killed a senior commander in Hezbollah’s Badr regional division in southern Lebanon. Lebanese media reported that at least four people were killed in the attack.
The Israeli military said in a statement that Abu Hassan Alaa was killed late on Saturday in the strike on Deir al-Zahrani. It described the attack as “a response” to an earlier Hezbollah drone strike targeting Israeli troops in southern Lebanon that wounded three soldiers.
On the same day, it killed a commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force during overnight strikes in southern Lebanon.
The IDF said the militant was identified as Ali Samir Al-Haj Hassan, a battalion commander in the unit.
It added that he was struck in a Hezbollah headquarters in the town of Ansar, Nabatieh District, in response to a Hezbollah attack against Israeli forces operating in the “security zone.”
In a separate statement, the Israeli prime minister’s office said three Israeli soldiers were seriously injured in the Hezbollah attack.
“The IDF responded by striking the Hezbollah terror headquarters which ordered the attack,” it read.
The Israeli military said several other militants involved in planning and advancing attacks against its soldiers were also killed. Hassan’s family was also present inside the headquarters at the time of the strike, it added.
Also on Saturday, seven people were killed in heavy Israeli airstrikes on the southern village of Ansar, one of the deadliest Israeli attacks since a ceasefire was reached in 2024.
Israeli attacks have killed at least 4,300 people in Lebanon since the latest round of fighting began on March 2.
–IANS
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