A shadowy Hezbollah commander responsible for directing rocket attacks toward Israel has been killed in an airstrike.
Ibrahim Muhammad Qubaisi, who led Hezbollah’s missile division, was targeted in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Security sources said he was inside a six-story residential building which was destroyed when it came under fire in the Dahieh district.
It’s thought five others were also killed amid a widescale Israeli bombing in Lebanon. That number could include other senior officers in Hezbollah’s rocket branch.
Little is known about Qubaisi but according to reports he also went by the names Abu Issa and Abu Musa.
Israeli news site Ynet said he had recently been appointed to report directly to Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah.
It follows a series of high-profile assassinations after tensions exploded in the bloody aftermath of October 7 and this month’s pager explosions.
“We are in the midst of intense combat days in the north and Israel has escalated its offensive against Hezbollah,” an official told Ynet.
“We’ve been systematically dismantling Hezbollah’s capabilities, including destroying thousands of rockets and missiles.”
The killing of Qubaisi came just days after figure Ibrahim Aqil, described as one of Hezbollah’s top leaders, was taken out in the capital’s suburbs.
“Our strategy is not to enter a full-scale war but to increase pressure gradually,” the official added. “If Hezbollah didn’t understand the message of the assassination of Ibrahim Aqil, it will in the coming days.”
Qubaisi was also allegedly involved in rocket attacks on Tel Aviv. His death came as Hezbollah announced the use of a new weapon, Fadi 3, which was reportedly launched at an Israeli air base during the ongoing conflict.
Israeli military chiefs have vowed to continue their military campaign until citizens displaced from the north of their country can safely return home.
There are fears Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militia designated a terrorist group by the West, has an arsenal of some 150,000 missiles at its disposal, all of which are aimed at northern and central Israel.
They are thought to be hidden in the hills of southern Lebanon, but Israel has accused Hezbollah of hiding its weapons in homes and villages.
Among the cache is an estimated 10,000 long-range precision-guided missiles that could wreak havoc on the length and breadth of Israel.
According to Sky News, commanders on waiting on permission from Iran to use them, but some observers believe Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei wants to keep the deadly weapons for another day in case Israel attacks its nuclear facilities.
The death toll from strikes in Lebanon has climbed to 558, including 50 children and 94 women.
