September 24, 2024 13:40 GMT
MIDEAST: Beirut Airstrike Kills Another Senior Hezbollah Commander-Reports
MIDEAST
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Wires reporting that according to two security sources in Lebanon, the Israeli airstrike on the suburb of Ghobeiry in Beirut earlier today killed Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Qubaisi, a leading member of the group's rocket division. The Lebanese health ministry claims that six were killed and 15 others wounded in the airstrike. The strike on Qubaisi is the second in short succession after Ibrahim Iqil and other senior figures in Hezbollah's Radwan Forces were eliminated in a 20 September attack.
- The elimination of a growing number of high-ranking Hezbollah figures could push the escalating conflict in several different directions. With the loss of a number of key officials, Hezbollah could 'go to ground' in an effort to avoid further losses and consolidate to allow for the rebuilding of its internal hierarchy. Alternatively, it could spur the remaining command structure to 'go for broke' and launch an intensified barrage of rockets and missiles not just towards military, but civilian targets in northern Israel.
- Hezbollah has claimed the use of a new rocket, the Fadi 3, in its latest attack on an Israeli army base. The launching of Fadi 1 and Fadi 2 missiles was announced at the weekend. The Syrian-manufactured, Hezbollah-modified missiles have greater range and larger payloads than the rocket salvos customarily fired across the border into Israel.
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