Over 250 Hezbollah fighters killed in southern Lebanon ground offensive, says Israel

The Israeli military on Friday said its forces had killed 250 Hezbollah fighters during the past four days after launching ground operations in southern Lebanon.

In a statement, the military said “250 Hezbollah terrorists were eliminated, of which 21 were commanders during four days of precise operation in southern Lebanon.”

Among the 250 Hezbollah fighters killed since Monday are at least 21 field commanders, according to the IDF, including five brigade-level commanders, 10 company commanders, and six platoon commanders, Times of Israel reported.

The IDF’s 98th and 36th divisions are currently operating in several Lebanese villages close to the Israeli border, where the military says troops have located a large number of weapons and infrastructure that Hezbollah left behind.

Israel carried out a series of massive airstrikes overnight, hitting suburbs of Beirut and cutting off the main border crossing between Lebanon and Syria for tens of thousands of people fleeing Israeli bombardment.

The blasts in Beirut’s southern suburbs sent huge plumes of smoke and flames into the night sky and shook buildings kilometers (miles) away in the Lebanese capital. The Israeli military did not comment on what the intended target was, and there was no information yet available on casualties. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported there were more than 10 consecutive airstrikes in the area.

Meanwhile, Israel’s military said that Hezbollah had launched about 100 rockets into Israel on Friday, as fighting continued between Israel and the militant group.

The Israeli military also said Friday that a strike in Beirut the day before killed Mohammed Rashid Skafi, the head of Hezbollah’s communications division. The military said in a statement that Skafi was “a senior Hezbollah terrorist who was responsible for the communications unit since 2000” and was “closely affiliated” with high-up Hezbollah officials.

The new wave of strikes came after Israel warned people to evacuate communities in southern Lebanon, including but also beyond an area that the United Nations declared a buffer zone after Israel and Hezbollah fought a monthlong war in 2006.

Israel launched a ground incursion into Lebanon on Tuesday and its forces have been clashing with Hezbollah militants in a narrow strip along the border. A series of attacks before the incursion killed some of the group’s key members, including longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah.