Israel kills top Hezbollah terrorist in Lebanon’s Dahieh district

Israel’s security forces announced on Tuesday that Hassan Ali Mahmoud Bdeir, a senior operative in Hezbollah’s Unit 3900 and the Iranian Quds Force, was eliminated in a precision airstrike overnight Monday in the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahieh, south of Beirut.

The Israel Defense Forces, Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) and Mossad said Bdeir had recently worked with Hamas to coordinate a significant and imminent terrorist attack targeting Israeli civilians, prompting the strike.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported that four people were killed and seven wounded in the strike.

The incident occurred just days after another Israeli airstrike in the same area—the first such operation since a ceasefire concluded hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah in November. That attack reportedly targeted a Hezbollah facility used for storing drones, following Israeli accusations that the group had launched rockets into northern Israel.

In response, Lebanese government officials and military leaders urged the international community to pressure Israel to stop its military actions and withdraw from Lebanese territory.

Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem on Saturday accused Israel of violating the November ceasefire agreement, warning that the terror group would act if the Lebanese government failed to resolve the matter diplomatically.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam voiced strong objections following the latest Israeli attack.

In a statement issued by the presidential office, Aoun characterized the incident as a “serious escalation” and called upon the international community to reaffirm Lebanon’s sovereign rights. He emphasized the need for renewed diplomatic engagement, urging Lebanon’s allies to take a definitive stance against actions that threaten the country’s territorial integrity.

Salam, in a separate address, warned that the attack jeopardizes the fragile ceasefire currently in place between Israel and Hezbollah. He argued that the strike constitutes a direct infringement of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, the agreement that ended the 2006 conflict and laid the groundwork for the truce brokered in November. Salam described the strike as “a blatant disruption to regional stability,” underscoring the need for international oversight and restraint.

Hezbollah has yet to issue a formal statement.

© JNS