IDF Says It Killed Hezbollah Spokesperson in Beirut Airstrike

A neighborhood in southern Beirut after an Israeli airstrike on Nov. 13, 2024. Ibrahim Amro / AFP via Getty Images

Hezbollah’s chief spokesman was killed in a recent airstrike on Beirut, the capital city of Lebanon, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said on Monday.

The IDF said its air force carried out a “precise, intelligence-based strike” on Nov. 17, killing Mohammed Afif, whom it identified as the Iranian-backed terrorist group’s chief spokesman and senior military operative.

The Lebanon-based Hezbollah also confirmed that Afif was killed in an Israeli air raid, according to a statement carried by Hezbollah’s media outlet.

The IDF said Afif “wielded significant influence” on Hezbollah’s military operations, saying that he “glorified” and “incited” terrorist attacks against Israel through his messages on Lebanese media.

Afif received orders from Hezbollah’s senior military commanders about the group’s involvement in the Oct. 19 drone attack on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s house in Caesarea, Israel, the IDF said.

The Israeli leader and his family were not at home during the attack, for which Hezbollah had claimed responsibility.

Afif was also responsible for “numerous psychological terror” operations against Israeli people, according to the Israeli military. It stated that Afif had joined the terrorist group in the 1980s.

It is unclear exactly where Afif was killed. The Lebanese Health Ministry said that at least four people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Beirut’s Ras al-Naba’a on Sunday.

The Israeli military launched another airstrike on Beirut’s Mar Elias Street, killing at least two people and injuring 20 others, according to the ministry.

The IDF said its air force on Nov. 16 had struck “Hezbollah terrorist targets” in Dahieh, a Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut, and that residents had been warned to leave the area before the strike.

The Israeli military said that it dismantled a rocket stockpile and 15 launchers used by Hezbollah to launch attacks against Israel during an operation in southern Lebanon this past week.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese army stated on X that two of its soldiers were killed in an Israeli airstrike that targeted the army in the southern Lebanese town of Al-Mari on Sunday.

Flares Detected at Netanyahu’s Home

Israeli Police said on Sunday that its officers detected two flares fired near the Israeli prime minister’s residence in Caesarea at around 7:30 p.m. local time on Nov. 17.

Netanyahu and his family were not at the house, according to a statement by the police.

Police said that a joint investigation with the General Security Service had been launched, warning that the incident amounted to “a dangerous escalation.” No one has claimed responsibility for the incident so far.

In a show of support for Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, and after Israel’s retaliatory strikes in Gaza later that day, Hezbollah began firing rockets into northern Israel on a near-daily basis in violation of U.N. security resolutions.

This forced many residents in northern Israel to flee to the center of the country. The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah turned into an all-out war in late September.

Israel launched its military operation in Gaza after Hamas carried out its 2023 attack in which more than 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage.

The Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Department stated that Israel’s ground offensive in Gaza has led to more than 43,800 deaths to date.