Israel announces the killing of the secretary to the Secretary-General of Hezbollah and his nephew

The Israeli military announced on Thursday that it had eliminated the secretary to the Secretary-General of Hezbollah and had targeted a series of the group’s infrastructures.

In a statement posted on X by the Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee, it was stated that the air force struck in Beirut the previous day Ali Youssef Harshi, personal secretary to Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem, along with his nephew.

Who is Ali Harshi?

The statement noted that Harshi was a close associate and personal adviser to the Hezbollah leader and played a central role in managing and securing his office.

Other targets

The Israeli military added that it struck overnight two additional key crossings used by Hezbollah members to move between the northern and southern parts of the Litani River to transport thousands of weapons, rockets, and launch platforms.

It further stated that around ten weapons depots, launch platforms, and Hezbollah command centers in southern Lebanon were also targeted.

Israeli strikes across several regions of Lebanon, including Beirut, the previous day resulted in at least 182 fatalities and more than 890 injuries, according to provisional official figures.

The confrontation between Tel Aviv and Hezbollah began on March 2, when the group launched rockets at Israel in response to the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the outset of the war.

While Iran and the United States agreed to a two-week ceasefire overnight Tuesday–Wednesday, Israel insisted that Lebanon was not part of the truce.

The truce between Iran and the United States appeared close to collapse on Wednesday evening after Tehran threatened to resume hostilities following Israeli strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Today, the U.S. Vice President stated: “If Iran wants these negotiations to collapse… because of Lebanon, which has no connection to them and which the United States never said was part of the ceasefire, that is ultimately its choice.”