IDF confirms death of top Hezbollah commander

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Tuesday it had eliminated the commander of Hezbollah’s Nassar Unit, one of the Iranian-backed terror organization’s three units operating in Southern Lebanon.

Hassan Salameh was killed in a targeted overnight Israeli Air Force strike in the Jwaya area of the Tyre District on Sunday, the IDF said.

Salameh was appointed commander of the Nasser Unit following the elimination of his predecessor, Abu Talib, in a June 2024 airstrike in the same area, the military noted.

Salameh was a senior terrorist who throughout the years served in key positions, including as the commander of Hezbollah’s Khaim region and the deputy operational commander in the Nassar Unit, it said.

He “operated extensively against the State of Israel and to advance numerous terror attacks against Israeli civilians,” it continued.

“The IDF is operating with determination against the Hezbollah terrorist organization following its decision to deliberately attack Israel on behalf of the Iranian regime,” concluded the military, adding: “The IDF will not tolerate any harm to the residents of the State of Israel.”

According to the Alma Center, a research group specializing in security threats in the north, operatives of the Nasser Unit since the start of the war on Oct. 7, 2023, carried out “numerous attacks against Israel, and many of the Hezbollah casualties belong to these units.”

Iranian-backed Hezbollah began firing rockets and UAVs at Israel on the morning of March 2, in retaliation for Israel’s targeted killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. He was killed in the opening shot of “Operation Roaring Lion/Epic Fury” against the regime on Feb. 28.

In response to the terror organization’s violation of the U.S.-brokered Nov. 27, 2024, ceasefire deal, Jerusalem launched an aerial campaign against Hezbollah, in addition to ordering IDF troops to advance and take control of additional areas in Lebanon to halt cross-border fire.

IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday evening that the military was seeing attempts by Hezbollah to “increase its rocket fire toward the communities of the north while expanding the range of its attacks” to central Israel and beyond.

“Hezbollah is suffering heavy blows. We are deepening the damage to its capabilities with each passing day and increasing the pressure on it. The fire it is carrying out in order to harm Israeli civilians is a clear response to this,” said Defrin.

Throughout the day on Tuesday, the IDF struck over 80 Hezbollah sites across Lebanon, including Hezbollah headquarters, in addition to missions to thwart launches toward at Israeli territory, he stated.

“IDF troops are locating and striking infrastructure in Lebanon’s south,” Defrin said, adding: “We will continue to deepen our forward defense and our hold on key commanding points in Southern Lebanon.”

IDF Col. Avichay Adraee, from the Arab Media Branch in the Israeli military’s Spokesperson’s Unit, on Wednesday morning called on residents of six Lebanese villages to evacuate ahead of strikes.

“For your safety, you must evacuate your homes immediately,” Adraee tweeted, addressing Lebanese noncombatants in Yatar, Al-Qlailah, Kafra, Jabal al-Butm, Majdal Zoun and Al-Haniyeh.

“The IDF does not intend to harm you,” he stated, warning that anyone located near Hezbollah operatives or infrastructure was “putting their life at risk” and that any house used by Hezbollah would be targeted.

“To protect your lives, evacuate your homes immediately and move to an area north of the Litani River,” he said, adding: “Be advised: any movement southward may endanger your lives.”

On Tuesday, the IDF struck what it described as a “Hezbollah terrorist organization command center” in the area of Tyre in Lebanon’s south.

Meanwhile, the IDF completed an additional wave of strikes in Dahieh, Beirut’s Hezbollah stronghold, targeting the group’s command centers and weapons storage facilities, it announced on Wednesday morning.

Prior to all strikes, measures were taken to “mitigate the risk of harm to civilians, including advance warnings, the use of precision munitions and aerial surveillance,” according to the military statement.