An Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon killed a high-ranking Hezbollah military commander on Monday, escalating tensions between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The commander, Wissam al-Tawil, was part of an elite secret Hezbollah unit that operates along the Israeli-Lebanese border. He had been involved in the 2006 Hezbollah operation that kidnapped two Israeli soldiers, an event that sparked a war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Al-Tawil is the most senior Hezbollah militant to be killed since fighting flared up between Israel and Hezbollah after Israel assassinated a senior Hamas leader in Beirut last week. His death raises concerns of further escalation between the bitter enemies Israel and Hezbollah, who last went to war in 2006.
This comes as Israel continues its military offensive against Hamas in Gaza that began after Hamas militants launched attacks on Israel in October. The Israeli operation has already killed over 23,000 Palestinians and devastated infrastructure and homes throughout Gaza. 85% of Gaza’s population has been displaced and a quarter face starvation.
Israel claims it has largely accomplished its objectives in northern Gaza but is still battling Hamas in central and southern areas. Israel aims to fully dismantle Hamas’s capabilities and rescue Israelis being held hostage by Hamas since October.
With tensions high, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is engaging in shuttle diplomacy to try to prevent a major regional conflagration. But the Israeli assassination of a top Hamas leader in Beirut, along with the killing of the senior Hezbollah commander, has raised fears that the various conflicts could merge into a broader regional war.
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