Top Hezbollah commander killed in Israeli airstrike in Lebanon

Killing of Wissam Tawil adds to fears of Gaza conflict widening across Middle East

Hezbollah commander Wissam Tawil, left, with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah (Hezbollah Military Media via AP)

A top figure in Hezbollah has been killed in a suspected Israeli airstrike on southern Lebanon – the latest in an escalating exchange of strikes that has stoked fears of the war in Gaza spreading across the Middle East.

Wissam Tawil was a commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan forces, and is the most senior Hezbollah officer to have been killed so far in weeks of cross-border strikes since the Hamas attack inside Israel on 7 October, which killed 1,200 people and saw another 240 taken hostage. Israel has vowed to eradicate Hamas and has been bombarding Gaza since the attack, while Iran-backed Hezbollah, an ally of Hamas, has been hitting the Israeli border almost daily.

Lebanese media reported that Tawil had been killed in an airstrike on his vehicle in the south of the country. Israel’s military did not comment, but it did say it had hit Hezbollah targets in response to cross-border attacks.

Hezbollah issued a statement announcing Tawil’s death and describing him as a “commander”, and also published photos showing him shaking hands with its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and sitting next to top Iranian general Qassem Suleimani, who was assassinated in a US strike in Iraq in 2020. All of the pictures pointed to Tawil’s influence.

More than 130 Hezbollah militants have been killed since 7 October in what has become the deadliest confrontation between Israel and the group since the month-long war in 2006. A source said that Tawil’s death was a significant blow given his experience, which included deployments with Hezbollah in Syria and Iraq.

There have been growing fears about a spread of violence across the Middle East in the wake of Israel’s war on Hamas, with health officials in Hamas-run Gaza putting the death toll in the besieged territory at more than 23,000 and more than 85 per cent of Gaza’s residents having been forced from their homes by Israeli airstrikes or ground operations.

The assassination on 2 January of Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy political leader of Hamas, in a drone strike in Beirut that is also believed to have been carried out by Israel, heightened tensions, with Hezbollah vowing revenge. The next day, Hezbollah launched a barrage of rockets against an Israeli observation post. The group does, though, appear to be wary of risking all-out war.

On Sunday, Hezbollah’s deputy leader Naim Qassem said the group did not want to “initiate total war, but if Israel decides to wage total war on us then we in the field will respond with total war without hesitation and with all we have”.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned Hezbollah that his country will respond if Hezbollah continues to strike Israel. Speaking to soldiers stationed on the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on Monday, Mr Netanyahu said he was determined to “do everything necessary to restore security to the north”. He added: “Hezbollah made a big mistake with us in 2006 and it is also doing so now.”

During a press conference, Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy said: “Hezbollah is dragging Lebanon into a totally unnecessary war. We are now at a fork in the road. Either Hezbollah backs off, hopefully as part of a diplomatic solution, or we will push it away.”

The latest airstrike comes as US secretary of state Antony Blinken is visiting the Middle East for the fourth time in three months, with one of his priorities being to head off a wider regional conflict. “One of the real concerns is the ­border between Israel and Lebanon, and we want to do everything possible to make sure we see no escalation,” Mr Blinken has said during his trip.

The secretary of state was holding talks in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia on Monday. Mr Blinken is also set to visit Israel, where he is expected to demand that the country reduce the intensity of its fighting in Gaza.

Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report