BEIRUT, June 12, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - An Israeli strike on southern Lebanon
killed a senior Hezbollah commander on Tuesday, the Iran-backed militant
group said.

It named the commander as Sami Abdallah, also known as Abu Taleb, born in
1969, in a statement reporting his death.

A Lebanese military source said the commander was "the most important in
Hezbollah to be killed up to now since the start of the war" between Israel
and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, which has fuelled violence on
the Lebanon-Israel border.

The source said the strike hit the town of Jouaiyya, 15 kilometres (nine
miles) from the Israeli border, and also killed three other people.

Hezbollah later announced the death of a second fighter, with a source close
to the Shiite Muslim movement identifying him as Mohammad Hussein Sabra, also
known as Baqer.

Hezbollah, a Hamas ally, has traded near-daily fire with Israeli forces since
the Gaza war began, triggered by Hamas's October 7 attack.

Exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israeli forces have intensified over
recent days, causing multiple brush fires on both sides of the border.

Without commenting directly on Tuesday's strike, the Israeli military said it
hit a series of Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon after a barrage of "50
launches" by Hezbollah into the Golan Heights on Tuesday morning.

More than eight months of cross-border violence has killed at least 467
people in Lebanon, including almost 90 civilians and at least 304 Hezbollah
fighters, according to an AFP count.

Israeli authorities say at least 15 Israeli soldiers and 11 civilians have
been killed in the fighting.

Tens of thousands of people have been displaced.

Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel was "prepared
for a very intense operation" along the border with Lebanon and that "one way
or another, we will restore security to the north".