On Wednesday, Hezbollah announced the death of a key commander following an Israeli strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs, an attack that also claimed six lives, according to Lebanese authorities. The Iran-backed group confirmed the passing of Ibrahim Mohammed Kobeissi, the commander of its missile and rocket network, stating that he had been “martyred on the road to Jerusalem,” a phrase Hezbollah uses for those killed by Israeli forces.
The Israeli military had previously revealed that Kobeissi, described as a critical figure within Hezbollah’s missile program, had been eliminated in the raid on Tuesday. It was further stated by the Israeli army that Kobeissi had been responsible for overseeing several rocket units, including a precision-guided missile division.
A statement from Lebanon’s health ministry reported that six people were killed, and 15 were injured in the Israeli airstrike on Ghobeiri, a densely populated area of Beirut. Israeli military sources confirmed that other commanders associated with Hezbollah’s missile force had also been targeted during the strike, with at least two other senior figures being eliminated.
The attack followed another Israeli operation the day before, which targeted Hezbollah’s third-in-command, Ali Karake, although Hezbollah later announced that Karake had moved to safety. Tensions between Hezbollah and Israel have been escalating since the onset of the Gaza conflict last October, with exchanges of fire becoming increasingly frequent and raising concerns about a potential all-out war.