Israel killed Hezbollah’s chief spokesman in a rare central Beirut airstrike.
An anonymous Hezbollah official confirmed the death of Mohammed Afif to the Associated Press, while two Lebanese security sources confirmed it to Reuters.
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The source speaking with the Associated Press said Afif was killed in an airstrike targeting the pan-Arab socialist Ba’ath Party headquarters — the once preeminent Arab political movement that has since faded into relative obscurity following the toppling of Saddam Hussein and crippling of Syria.
However, the two sources speaking with Reuters said that the airstrike targeted the offices of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party – a pan-Syrian nationalist movement seeking the establishment of a “Greater Syria,” known for its militant opposition to Israel and alliance with Hezbollah.
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Ali Hijazi, head of the Lebanese branch of the Ba’ath Party, told Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed that Afif was in the building when it was destroyed. Hijazi pledged to fight Israel alongside Hezbollah in July.
His death is the latest in a string of assassinations targeting dozens of senior Hezbollah members over the past few months, killing nearly the entirety of the militant group’s leadership.
No death toll has yet been given, but an Associated Press photographer reported seeing four corpses and four wounded. No evacuation order was given in the lead-up to the strike.
According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, over 3,400 people have been killed since Oct. 7, 2023, with most of these occurring during the intense Israeli bombardment preceding ground operations in September and October.
Israel has taken a much more cautious approach in its invasion of Lebanon, compared to the three previous invasions, resulting in a snail’s pace advance through southern Lebanon. Despite the small territorial gains of the Israel Defense Forces, it has gotten the better of Hezbollah, which has largely avoided direct contact.
In contrast to its vigorous, well-organized defense during the 2006 war, Hezbollah has failed to effectively engage the IDF or inflict significant casualties. The expected massive missile bombardment utilizing the group’s colossal missile arsenal hasn’t materialized.
The Institute for the Study of War estimated that Israel’s decapitation operations, air campaign targeting logistics and command and control centers, and commando raids have thrown Hezbollah into disarray.
Instead of an organized defense, a report found that it’s “instead showing limited resistance in some sectors while abandoning others in a way that shows no clear plan or pattern of operations. Hezbollah’s failure so far demonstrates that its military forces are in disarray.”
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The Oct. 30 report also estimated that Israel’s slow pace is purposeful.
“Criticisms directed at the IDF’s slow pace of operations ignore Israeli operational design and lessons learned in the Gaza Strip. Some Lebanese officials implied that the Israeli operation is failing because IDF forces have not penetrated deep into Lebanon,” the report read. “The IDF’s slow movement is a deliberate choice designed to root out and destroy Hezbollah tunnel infrastructure methodically.”
