BEIRUT (Reuters) -An Israeli strike on the village of Jouya in southern Lebanon late Tuesday killed a senior field commander of Hezbollah and three fighters for the Lebanese armed group, three security sources said.
Hezbollah confirmed the death of the commander and said in a statement that he was Taleb Abdallah, also known as Abu Taleb.
Abu Taleb was the most senior member of the group killed in eight months of fire between Israel and Hezbollah, a security source told Reuters. He was identified by the sources as the group’s commander for the central region of the southern border strip.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
The security sources said the four Hezbollah members were likely targeted during a meeting.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the commander was senior to Wissam Tawil, a high-level Hezbollah commander killed in an Israeli strike in January.
Some 300 Hezbollah fighters, including commanders and operatives with key responsibilities, have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon since October, when the Gaza war broke out.
The Israeli military says it has killed more than 320 Hezbollah members, including at least 100 targeted after field operatives gathered “precise high-quality intelligence” on them.
(Reporting by Laila Bassam; Additional Reporting by Enas Alashray; Writing by Maya Gebeily; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Cynthia Osterman)
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