This photo from June 3, 2024, shows Hezbollah commander Muhammad Nimah Nasser, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike. The Times of Israel
In a recent escalation of tensions, an Israeli airstrike targeted and killed a senior Hezbollah commander, Mohammed Qassem Al-Shaer, in Lebanon. Al-Shaer, who led Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, was struck in the village of Qaraoun in Lebanon's western Beqaa district on Tuesday. According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Al-Shaer had been involved in numerous attacks against Israel, and his death is expected to weaken Hezbollah’s capability to launch future operations from southern Lebanon.
Following the airstrike, Hezbollah confirmed the death of Al-Shaer and retaliated by firing "dozens" of Katyusha rockets and several drones toward northern Israel. The IDF reported that these rockets caused no injuries, as some were intercepted and others fell in unpopulated areas. In response, Israel targeted Hezbollah launch sites in Mansouri and At Tiri.
Earlier on the same day, the Israeli Air Force struck a Hezbollah military facility in Rachaf, located in southern Lebanon’s Nabatieh governorate. This attack resulted in 12 people being injured, according to Lebanon’s Public Health Emergency Operations Center.
The recent airstrike follows the killing of another top Hezbollah figure, Fu’ad Shukr, in a drone strike in Beirut's southern suburbs. Shukr’s assassination marked the highest-profile Hezbollah official to be targeted since Mustafa Badreddine in 2016.
These incidents come amid ongoing violence between Israel and Hamas, which has fueled daily cross-border exchanges of fire. The situation has also prompted heightened diplomatic efforts to ease the growing hostilities.
In a separate development, Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank resulted in at least five deaths. On Wednesday, the Israeli Defense Forces conducted strikes in Tammon and Tubas. The IDF stated that these operations targeted "terrorist infrastructures" and an "armed terrorist squad." The strikes in Tubas, which occurred around 3 a.m., hit a group of young Palestinians who were reportedly unarmed and gathered near a mosque. The Palestinian Ministry of Health and local sources confirmed the fatalities and reported the imposition of a curfew by Israeli forces.
Recent weeks have seen intensified Israeli military actions in the West Bank, including a major counter-terrorism operation targeting Jenin, Tulkarem, and Tubas. Israeli officials have claimed these operations are aimed at thwarting Iranian-backed terrorist infrastructure.
Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza on October 7, which was sparked by a Hamas attack on southern Israel, clashes in the West Bank have escalated. The conflict has resulted in approximately 700 Palestinian deaths, according to reports from the Palestinian Ministry of Health and the United Nations.
