Netanyahu: No terrorist immune after Hezbollah commander killed

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video statement on Thursday confirming that Israel killed a senior Hezbollah commander in a strike in central Beirut on Wednesday night, identifying the target as the head of the Iranian-backed terrorist group’s Radwan Force.

“This is the same senior terrorist who led the plan to conquer the north,” the premier said. “He thought he could continue directing attacks against our forces and our communities from his covert terrorist headquarters in Beirut. He apparently read in the press that he had immunity in Beirut. So he read—and that will no longer be the case.”

Netanyahu said Israeli forces had killed more than 200 Hezbollah terrorist operatives over the past month and were carrying out similar operations against terrorist cells in Gaza, including on Wednesday.

He warned that “no terrorist has immunity” and said anyone threatening Israel would be targeted. He praised Israeli troops, intelligence services and the air force for their role in the operations.

The prime minister’s statement came shortly after the IDF announced the killing of Ahmed Ali Balout, who the military said “commanded dozens of terror attacks against IDF soldiers operating in Southern Lebanon, including anti-tank missile attacks and the detonation of explosive devices.”

Balout also spearheaded attempts to rebuild the Radwan Force and Hezbollah’s “Conquer the Galilee” Plan, “which was planned and advanced by the unit for years,” the military stated.

Under that plan, the Iranian-backed terrorist organization sought to infiltrate Israel, seize areas along the border and abduct hostages.

The Radwan Force “operates under the sponsorship and direction of the Iranian terror regime with the aim of harming IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians,” the IDF stressed.

Wednesday’s attack in Beirut’s southern suburbs—a Hezbollah stronghold—marked the first IDF strike in the capital since April 8.