Photo: Reuters
The Lebanese group Hezbollah has confirmed that its media relations chief, Mohammad Afif, was killed in an Israeli strike on a building in central Beirut on Sunday. Israel typically avoids targeting senior Hezbollah members who do not hold clear military roles, and its air strikes usually focus on the southern suburbs of Beirut, where the group is most heavily concentrated.
Israel's military, which initially declined to comment, later issued a statement confirming it had "eliminated" Afif. The Lebanese health ministry reported that the strike resulted in one death and three injuries. A separate strike later that day hit Mar Elias street, another central area rarely targeted by Israeli bombs, according to Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV. This second strike killed at least two people and wounded 22, the Lebanese health ministry said.
Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in a cycle of violence for over a year, starting when Hezbollah began launching rockets at Israeli military targets on October 8, 2023, a day after Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 people, according to Israeli authorities. In late September, Israel expanded its military operations in Lebanon, heavily bombing the south and east, as well as the southern suburbs of Beirut, alongside ground incursions on the border.
Israel's campaign in Lebanon has resulted in the deaths of 3,841 people and nearly 15,000 injuries over the past year, according to the Lebanese health ministry. Hezbollah's rocket attacks across the border have killed dozens of Israelis, including both soldiers and civilians, according to Israeli reports. A separate assault on the Gaza Strip in Israel's war against Hamas has claimed the lives of more than 43,000 people, the majority of whom were civilians, according to Palestinian health officials.
In addition to targeting Hezbollah, the escalation has also resulted in the deaths of several Lebanese soldiers, including two who were killed on Sunday when Israel attacked an army post in the southern town of Al-Mari, according to the Lebanese army. Two other soldiers were wounded in the incident.
The strike in Beirut that targeted the Hezbollah official occurred in the Ras al-Nabaa neighborhood, where many people displaced from the southern suburbs by Israeli bombardment have sought refuge. Lebanese security sources reported that a building housing offices of the Ba'ath Party was hit, and the party's leader in Lebanon, Ali Hijazi, told the Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed that Afif had been in the building. Ambulances were heard rushing to the scene, and gunfire was used to prevent crowds from approaching.
The Lebanese broadcaster showed video of a building with collapsed upper floors and civil defense workers at the scene. Afif had long served as a media adviser to Hezbollah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli air attack on the southern suburbs of Beirut on September 27. He managed Hezbollah's Al-Manar television station for several years before taking over the group's media office.
Afif frequently hosted press conferences for journalists in the rubble of Beirut's southern suburbs. In his most recent comments to reporters on November 11, he stated that Israeli troops had been unable to hold any territory in Lebanon and that Hezbollah had sufficient weapons and supplies to sustain a prolonged conflict.
Source link: https://www.khaleejtimes.com
