Hezbollah reported overnight Wednesday the death of Taleb Sami Abdallah, the commander of its Al Nasr unit known by his call sign Abu Taleb, in an Israeli-linked strike on a house in southern Lebanon. Abu Taleb is reportedly the most senior Hezbollah commander eliminated by Israel since the outbreak of war.
Arab media reported an Israeli attack in the southern Lebanese village of Jouaiyya near Tyre. According to reports, four Hezbollah commanders were killed in the attack, including Abu Taleb.
"The attack in southern Lebanon was aimed at the Hezbollah leaders' security meeting. This is the harshest blow since the beginning of the war," reported Saudi channel Al Hadath.
Reuters quoted a Lebanese official who said Abu Taleb was the most senior Hezbollah operative killed in eight months of conflict. Lebanese security sources emphasized that Abu Taleb outranked Wissam al-Tawil, a high-ranking commander of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, who was killed by Israel in January.
According to past reports, the Al Nasr unit commanded by Abu Taleb operates in southern Lebanon, from the Israeli border up to the Litani River. Sources who spoke to Reuters said he commanded the central sector in the border area. While Hezbollah did not confirm the various reports, they did announce his death on Tuesday.
Sky News Arabia reported that three missiles hit a house in Jouaiyya, killing four senior Hezbollah commanders. Arab media identified the other commanders as Ali Salim Sufan, Hussein Qassem Hmeid (call sign Sajid) and Mohammed Hussein Sabra.
The strike on Hezbollah leaders came after another intense day of fighting on the northern front on Shavuot Eve. Hezbollah fired 15 rockets at the Galilee region, with no casualties reported. The IDF intercepted some of the rockets, while others fell in unpopulated areas. The rocket barrage also disrupted Shavuot celebrations in Kibbutz Neot Mordechai.
Hezbollah claimed the rocket fire at the Galilee was in response to previous IDF attacks in southern Lebanon. The army said that fighter jets targeted Hezbollah positions, including a military structure, a launch site and other terrorist infrastructure. Lebanon reported three wounded in an airstrike on a car in the southern village of Kafra.
Additionally, the IDF eliminated a Hezbollah operative in Naqoura on Tuesday. The Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper Al Akhbar claimed the man, identified as Saleh Ahmed Mahdi, was an employee of the local water corporation and was killed in a drone strike while riding a motorcycle, "supplying water to the town."
This assassination followed another Hezbollah rocket barrage on northern Israel's Golan Heights region, causing several fires. The barrage came after an Israeli Air Force attack 150 kilometers (93 miles) deep into Lebanese territory, the furthest Israel has struck in Lebanon since the war began.