A prominent Hezbollah commander was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon on Monday.
Israel Defense Forces soldiers walk through Kibbutz Be'eri where days earlier Hamas militants killed over a hundred civilians near the border with Gaza on October 11, 2023 in Be'eri, Israel.
This is the latest in a series of escalating strikes along the border between the IDF and Hezbollah and raises fears that a wider-ranging war is brewing in the Middle East.
According to the Associated Press, the airstrike on an SUV killed the commander, identified as Wissam al-Tawil, according to a Lebanese security official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. He is reportedly the most senior militiaman killed by Israel since violence flared anew in the region following the October 7 assault on southern Israel carried out by Hamas, and also small arms exchanges along the northern border with Lebanon.
The United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly wishes to head off a wider conflict.
Indeed, military analysts see a slippery slope that will find Israel, the United States, Iran, and its proxies engaging in an all-out conflict that could swiftly become global. Meanwhile, the IDF says it has finished all major operations in northern Gaza and is now moving toward objectives in the central region, and the southern city of Khan Younis.
Casualties In The Middle East Grow
The ongoing goal of Israel is to destroy Hamas and secure hostages who were captured by Hamas. Thus far 23,000 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict and 85% of the 2.3 million people who live in the area have been displaced.
Employees at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital have said it has been struck multiple times by Israeli forces in recent days, causing thousands of people to leave after aid groups pulled out due to the increasing danger of operating there.
"We have large numbers of wounded who can't move," he said. "They need special care, which is unavailable."
Gaza's Health Ministry said Monday that 249 Palestinians have been killed and 510 others were wounded across the territory in the last 24 hours. The WHO said late Sunday it has not been able to deliver supplies to northern Gaza in 12 days.
On Sunday, an Israeli airstrike reportedly struck a four-story home in Jabaliya, a refugee camp that was formed following the creation of the state of Israel in 1948, resulting in the deaths of 70 people, according to Gaza's civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal.
Israel maintains that Hamas is responsible for civilian causalities because the group operates in heavily populated residential areas. They say they've killed nearly 8,000 militants but have not provided any evidence to support this claim.
The United States has repeatedly implored Israel to modify its tactics to minimize civilian deaths.
