Beirut, Lebanon CNN —
A senior Hezbollah commander was killed in an Israeli drone strike on his car in southern Lebanon, a Lebanese security source told CNN on Monday, as fears of a wider regional conflict escalate.
The official, Wissam Tawil, is the most senior member of the Shiite militant group to be killed in an Israeli strike since Hezbollah and Israel began trading fire across the Lebanese-Israeli border on October 8, the day after Hamas carried out the deadliest terror attack in Israel’s history.
In a statement, Hezbollah also acknowledged the death of Tawil, who also went by the nom de guerre Hajj Jawad, in an Israeli attack. The paramilitary group shared pictures of him alongside other top Hezbollah officials and Qasem Soleimani, the former commander of the Iranian elite unit that handles the country’s overseas operations who was killed in a US airstrike four years ago, an apparent indication of Tawil’s stature.
CNN has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment.
Tawil’s killing comes just days after Saleh Al-Arouri, the deputy head of the political bureau of Hamas, and three others died in a strike on an office building in Beirut, the Lebanese capital. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the attack.
