Lebanon's Hezbollah fired a massive barrage of rockets into northern Israel on Wednesday to avenge the killing of a top commander, further escalating regional tensions as the fate of an internationally-backed plan for a cease-fire in Gaza hung in the balance. The assassinated Hezbollah operative, Hajj Abu Taleb, was the commander of the Nasr Unit, which is in charge of the southern part of Lebanon. He is believed to be the highest-ranking Hezbollah terrorist killed in the war so far.
Video: The Israeli strike taking out the senior Hezbollah operative / Credit: IDF
The retaliatory attack came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in the region to push a cease-fire proposal with global support that has not been fully embraced by Israel or Hamas. The terrorist group submitted its first official response late Tuesday, requesting "amendments" to the deal.
Video: The rocket attack by Hezbollah on the Sea of Galilee / Credit: Usage under Israeli intellectual property law Section 27a
Hezbollah, an Iran-backed ally of Hamas, has traded fire with Israel nearly every day since the 8-month-long Israel-Hamas war began and says it will only stop if there is a truce in Gaza. That has raised fears of an even more devastating regional conflagration.
Air raid sirens sounded across northern Israel, and the military said that about 160 projectiles were fired from southern Lebanon, making it one of the largest attacks since the fighting began. There were no immediate reports of casualties as some were intercepted while others ignited brush fires.
IAF aircraft eliminated Sami Taleb Abdullah, the commander of the Nasr Unit in the Hezbollah terrorist organization, last night. This was part of a strike on a Hezbollah command and control center in the area of Jouaiyya in southern Lebanon, which was used to direct terrorist… pic.twitter.com/DE4qKnC7Mk
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) June 12, 2024
Hezbollah said it fired missiles and rockets at two military bases in retaliation for the killing of Taleb Sami Abdullah, 55. Known within Hezbollah as Hajj Abu Taleb, he is the most senior commander killed since the fighting began eight months ago. The Israeli strike destroyed a house where Abdullah and three other officials were meeting, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border, late Tuesday.
A Hezbollah official told The Associated Press that Abdullah was in charge of a large part of the Lebanon-Israel front, including the area facing the Israeli town of Kiryat Shmona, which Hezbollah has repeatedly attacked in recent days, causing fires in the area.
The official, who was not authorized to speak to the media and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Abdullah had joined Hezbollah decades ago and took part in attacks against Israeli forces during their 18-year stay in southern Lebanon that ended in May 2000.
The IDF issued the following statement several hours after the strike, confirming his identity: "Israeli Airforce aircraft eliminated Sami Taleb Abdullah, the commander of the Nasr Unit in the Hezbollah terrorist organization, last night. This was part of a strike on a Hezbollah command and control center in the area of Jouaiyya in southern Lebanon, which was used to direct terrorist attacks against Israel from southeastern Lebanon in recent months. Abdullah was one of Hezbollah's most senior commanders in southern Lebanon who planned, advanced, and carried out a large number of terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians. Three additional Hezbollah terrorist operatives were also eliminated in the strike. Taleb, one of the senior commanders of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, was killed in an airstrike yesterday along with three other terrorists. For years, Taleb had planned, orchestrated,d and carried out numerous terror plots against Israeli civilians."
In the strike that eliminated Taleb, three additional Hezbollah operatives at his side were also killed. Taleb Abdullah led offensive actions by Hezbollah units such as rocket fire toward Kiryat Shmona, the Galilee Panhandle region, and the fires along the Ramim Ridge. He was one of the most central figures in southern Lebanon.
Taleb was a senior terrorist who led many incidents since the early 2000s, including an anti-tank missile attack on the Ghajar area, as well as anti-tank missile incidents during the Second Lebanon War like the attack on Maroun al-Ras.
