Wissam al-Tawil, a commander in Hezbollah’s secretive Radwan Force deployed along the border with Israel, was killed when the strike hit his SUV in his hometown of Khirbet Silem on Monday.
An elite Hezbollah commander who was killed in an Israeli air strike on Monday in southern Lebanon fought for the group for decades and took part in some of its biggest battles.
Wissam al-Tawil, a 48-year-old commander in Hezbollah’s secretive Radwan Force deployed along the border with Israel, was killed when the strike hit his SUV in his hometown of Khirbet Silem.
The strike was about 10km (6 miles) from the border, beyond the villages and towns that have witnessed the two sides exchange fire over the past three months.
“This is a very painful strike,” a security source told Reuters. Another said: “things will flare up now”.
Israeli officials have been demanding for weeks that the Radwan Force withdraw from the border area to allow tens of thousands of Israelis displaced by the fighting to return to their homes.
During a visit to Israel last month, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said a “negotiated outcome” would be the best way to reassure residents of northern Israel.
