A targeted Israeli airstrike in Beirut was supposed to kill Ali Yusuf Harshi and raze a multi-story building to the ground. It also hit weapons depots in southern Lebanon.
The secretary of the leader of the Lebanese militant movement Hezbollah, Ali Yusuf Harshi, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut on Wednesday, the Israeli army announced on Thursday. The movement has not yet confirmed his death. TASR informs about it according to the reports of the AFP agency, the Sky News station and the news portal The Times of Israel (TOI).
- Israeli strike kills Hezbollah leader’s secretary in Beirut.
- Hezbollah has not yet confirmed the death of Harši.
- The attack destroyed the building and hit several weapons depots.
- The death of Harshi would be a great blow to Hezbollah and Iran.
“Harshi was a close associate and personal adviser to Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qasim and played a key role in managing his office and security,” the army said in a statement. At the same time, the fight is allegedly with Kásim’s nephew.
The army said that Harší was the target of an attack in one of Beirut’s neighborhoods, with the strike destroying a multi-story building. In addition, it also hit around ten weapons depots, rocket launching facilities and militant command centers in southern Lebanon.
The movement was weakened
The Reuters agency states that if Hezbollah confirms the death of Harshi, it will be another big blow for this armed group and for Iran. The Shia movement is one of Tehran’s key allies and fired rockets at Israel in response to the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The latter responded with large-scale attacks in Lebanon and deployed its ground troops in the south of the country.
Hezbollah was already weakened after the previous war with Israel in 2024, which was suspended by the conclusion of the truce. But the Jewish state later resumed attacks on Lebanon, claiming it was targeting militants.
The US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire on Wednesday night. According to Israel, this ceasefire does not include Lebanon. It came under the heaviest attack by the Jewish state since the start of the war on Wednesday, killing at least 254 people, including 91 in the capital Beirut, according to Sky News.
