Wissam Hassan Tawil belonged to the elite Radwan forces backed by Iran. Photo: Hezbollah Military Media, via AP
Israel killed senior Hezbollah commander in one of the most significant killings since the war began.
Wissam Hassan al-Tawil of the elite Iranian-backed Radwan force was the first a senior Hezbollah military leader killed within three months. cross-border clashes with Israeli forces, heightening fears of wider conflict in the region.
He was reportedly killed along with another Hezbollah fighter when their car was hit in a strike on the Lebanese village of Majdal Selm, about 3.7 miles from the Israeli border.
“This is very painful blow,” unnamed source. A security representative told Reuters about this. “Now the situation will worsen.”
Footage published on Telegram by an Iranian news agency linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claims to show the burnt-out car in which he was killed. Tawil, known as Al-Haj Jawad, played a leading role in directing Hezbollah's operations in the south.
The group said in a statement that he «rose as a martyr in the south.» way to Jerusalem.»
Hezbollah has used the same description for the more than 130 members of its ranks who have been killed since it began exchanging fire with Israeli forces in October after the war began in a show of support for Hamas.
Tawil was born in 1970 year in the southern Lebanese city of Tyre. He joined Hezbollah at an early age and rose through the ranks to a leadership position in Radwan's units, which Israel says are seeking to infiltrate its northern border.
Hezbollah Associated media published photographs of him with leader Hassan Nasrallah and former IRGC commander Qassim Soleimani, who was killed in a US drone strike in Iraq four years ago.
The images indicate Tawil's seniority in the network. Iranian-backed militant groups.
Lebanese Hezbollah commanders have played an important role in training and advising other Iranian-backed militants in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has escalated in recent days after Hezbollah vowed revenge for the killing of a Hamas militant. deputy political leader Saleh al-Arouri in a drone strike on Beirut that was widely attributed to Israeli forces.
US officials are touring the Middle East in an attempt to calm tensions, with all sides wanting to avoid a new war that could lead to large losses.
As part of any de-escalation, Israel wants Hezbollah to move further from its border. It fears that militants could unleash a larger version of the Hamas riots in the north of the country on October 7.
«We will do whatever is necessary»
Visiting northern Israel on Monday, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's Prime Minister, said military, allowing residents of the area to return as soon as it is safe to do so.
“We will do whatever is necessary,” he said. “Of course, we prefer that this be done without a large-scale campaign, but that will not stop us.”
The group announced an attack on the Israeli observation post the next day, January 3.
The strike on Tawil has raised fears of a new full-scale conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, which last descended into war in 2006.
U.S. officials are trying to reduce tensions to avoid such a scenario that would likely result in major losses on both sides.
Israel wants further assurances that Hezbollah will move further from its border. Israeli officials say there is a narrow window for a diplomatic solution and are demanding that Hezbollah comply with a long-standing UN resolution that requires its fighters to withdraw 18 miles from the border.
“We don’t want to fight a war between two front — if Hezbollah drags us into a new war, we will hold the Lebanese state responsible,” Israeli government spokesman Eilon Levy said at a press briefing. “Either Hezbollah retreats as part of a diplomatic solution, or we push it back.”
Some analysts argue that Tawil's killing does not necessarily mean war is on the horizon.
“Hezbollah is aware that the status quo suits them, but not Israel, and they are trying their best to prevent an escalation that would drag them into a full-scale war,” Firas Maksad, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC. «, — told The Telegraph.
The Lebanese are also afraid of another larger war that would devastate a country already rocked by economic collapse.
“I cannot express how scared the Lebanese are. right now,” wrote Chris Doyle, director of the London-based Council for Arab-British Understanding, on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Tensions on the Lebanese-Israeli border came as a senior IDF official said the Gaza campaign had begun to transition to a combat phase with fewer ground troops and airstrikes. Some troops stationed in the enclave have been redirected to Israel's northern border in anticipation of more fighting.
«The war has changed stages,» Rear Admiral Hagari, an Israel Defense Forces spokesman, told The New York Times. “But the transition will be without ceremony. We are not talking about harsh statements.”
According to Hagari, the Israeli military will continue to reduce the number of troops in the Gaza Strip. The process began last month, Hagari said.
As the civilian death toll in the enclave continues to rise, Israel comes under growing international threat. pressure to reduce bombing of densely populated areas and allow increased humanitarian aid. The Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip Health Ministry announced that the death toll had exceeded 23,000, including about 10,000 children.
Israel has degraded Hamas' military machine in part by killing its senior military commanders, officials say .
Yahya Sinwar, one of the organizers of the October 7 attacks, continues to elude them.
The IDF knows where he is, but cannot destroy him because he has surrounded himself. with a large number of living Israeli hostages, the Israel Hayom newspaper reported.
Israeli government spokesman Levy said he could not comment on Israeli intelligence. “Hamas terrorists have two options: surrender or die in battle,” he said.
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