IDF Eliminates Senior Hezbollah Commander in Southern Lebanon Airstrike
In a significant military operation late Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) successfully targeted and killed Ali Jaafar Maatouk, also known as Habib Maatouk, a senior commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force. The military confirmed the strike, which was echoed by an announcement from Hezbollah.
Maatouk served as an operations officer in the Radwan Force’s Hajjar regional unit, a group responsible for conducting numerous attacks on northern Israel’s Ramim Ridge. This region has frequently faced rocket, missile, and explosive-laden drone fire, particularly amid the ongoing conflict with Hamas in the south.
Security sources revealed to Reuters that Maatouk had recently succeeded Ali Ahmed Hussein, another commander in the Radwan unit, who was killed in an Israeli strike in April.
The Thursday night airstrike in the southern Lebanon town of Jmaijmeh also resulted in the deaths of another operations officer and several Hezbollah operatives, according to the IDF. The strike specifically targeted a three-story house in Jmaijmeh.
A separate IDF strike hit a Hezbollah command room in Majdal Selm, while fighter jets also targeted a building used by Hezbollah in Shaqra. Hezbollah confirmed Maatouk’s death but withheld details about his rank or role within the organization.
