Israeli Airstrike Kills Seven Hezbollah Members in Southern Lebanon

Weapons technician reportedly among the slain

Update 3/3/24, 1:00 pm EST:   The grandson of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah was killed in the Israeli drone strike against a vehicle in the Naqoura region (reported below), Arabic media outlets reported on Sunday.

Israeli airstrikes hit a series of targets in southern Lebanon on Saturday, killing at least seven Hezbollah members and badly damaging several buildings. Hezbollah confirmed the deaths but did not identify any of the slain by rank or by role.

The biggest attack was in the town of Ramia, where an airstrike killed four Hezbollah members. Three others were killed in an Israeli drone strike against a vehicle in the Naqoura region, traveling along a southern coastal road.

Israel targeted those in the vehicle as having fired rockets against northern Israel. They were reported to be members of the Imam Hossein Division, an Iranian militia that operates alongside Hezbollah. Among the slain, again unidentified, was said to be a weapons technician.

Beyond these airstrikes, additional fighter jet strikes hit southern Lebanon, damaging two buildings in Blida. The attacks mostly came early in the morning, or before dawn.

The attacks come just a day after pre-dawn airstrikes against the Syrian port of Baniyas, which killed an Iranian guard member as well as two members of Hezbollah. Once again, neither of the Hezbollah members have been positively identified.

The ongoing escalation comes amid negotiations for a Gaza Strip ceasefire. The Israeli government has presented a potential ceasefire as an opportunity to further increase the number of attacks on Lebanon.

The escalation in Lebanon is something multiple members of the international community are trying to avoid. Hezbollah has said they intend to follow a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The real question is whether Israel will continue to escalate if Hezbollah ceases fire. Indications are that they will, as Israel has presented its military goal as not only returning residents to northern Israel but forcing Hezbollah away from the border region. Proposals aimed at preventing such a war have centered on the idea of Hezbollah being replaced at the border by the Lebanese military. It is unclear if Lebanon will approve of this proposal.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.