Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israeli communities hours after killing a senior Hezbollah commander. An Israeli airstrike killed Muhammad Nimah Nasser in the city of Tyre on the coast of southern Lebanon on July 3.
Nasser was the commander of Hezbollah’s Aziz unit. His death came two and a half weeks after the commander of Hezbollah’s Nasr unit, Taleb Sami Abdallah, was killed in another Israeli airstrike on June 12. Hezbollah had previously fired more than 215 rockets at Israel in response to Abdallah’s killing.
The pro-Iranian media company Al-Mayadeen reported that Nasser was born in 1965 in Haddatha, a small village in the Bint Jbeil district of southern Lebanon, about eight kilometers from the Israeli border. The report claimed he was killed in a drone strike on a car he was in with other men. Another Hezbollah member, Muhammad Ghassan Khashab, was also killed.
The Israel Defense Forces said they had “eliminated terrorist Muhammad Nimah Nasser, commander of the Aziz Unit of the terrorist organization Hezbollah, which is responsible for shelling Israeli territory from southwestern Lebanon.” According to the Israel Defense Forces statement, Nasser took over the Aziz Unit in 2016 and “directed the shelling of Israeli civilians, communities and security forces from southwestern Lebanon with rockets and anti-tank missiles. In addition, Nasser directed a large number of terrorist attacks against Israel during and before the war and previously held several central positions within the terrorist organization Hezbollah.”
The Israeli forces determined that Nasser was a counterpart to Abdullah, “the commander of the Nasr unit who was eliminated last month. Together they served as two of the most significant Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon.”
Following the latest killing, Hezbollah launched new attacks on Israel. Sirens sounded in various areas, including the northern Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona. The town was evacuated in October and only a few thousand of its 24,000 residents remain. Sirens also sounded in Metula and Manara, two Israeli communities bordering Lebanon. Later in the afternoon, before sunset, more sirens sounded in Beit Hillel and Kfar Giladi in the Huleh Valley. In addition, sirens sounded in Misgav Am, Margaliot and Tel Hai, all areas near Kiryat Shmona.
The airstrike on Nasser follows two months of escalation by Hezbollah and a desire by Israeli officials to end Hezbollah’s eight-month-long attacks on northern Israeli communities. Hezbollah has said it will not stop its attacks until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.
Iranian media have highlighted claims of Hezbollah’s success in these attacks. A July 3 article by Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) claimed that “fleeing Zionist settlers” have become refugees in Israeli hotels over the past eight months due to Hezbollah’s attacks. Around 50,000 Israelis remain evacuated from northern communities; many live in hotels, and Iran and Hezbollah view this situation as a victory.
In another development, top Iranian diplomat and acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani warned on July 3 that if Israel intensifies its attacks on Hezbollah and this leads to a broader war, Hezbollah will turn Lebanon into an “eternal hell” for any Israeli invasion.
Hezbollah’s response to Nasser’s killing followed attacks on July 2, when the group fired 15 rockets at northern Israel.
“In addition, IDF forces identified a terrorist who entered a Hezbollah military facility in the Yarine area of southern Lebanon. Shortly after the identification, the IAF attacked the military facility from which the terrorist was operating,” the IDF said. On the night of July 2-3, the Israeli Air Force attacked Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, including Blida, Yaroun, Aitaroun, Labbouneh, Chihine and Tayr Harfa.
The Israeli forces continue to prepare for a possible escalation in the north. Israel recently released the 810th Brigade, called the “Mountain Brigade”, to guard the Dov and Hermon mountains on the border with Lebanon. This new territorial brigade, stationed in an important border area between the Israeli forces in the Galilee and the Golan Heights, is intended to ease the burden on the 91st Division, which is also stationed on the Lebanese border. The new brigade is under the command of the 210th Division on the Golan Heights.
The Mountain Brigade recently conducted an exercise to increase its operational readiness in the north. Various units stationed in northern Israel have conducted similar exercises as Israel prepares for a possible escalation with Hezbollah.
