Hezbollah commander killed in Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon

US secretary of state tries to rally Mideast leaders to prepare for Gaza's post-war future as a senior Hezbollah commander has been killed in Israeli airstrike, John Ray reports

A senior commander for the Hezbollah militant group has been killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon, raising concerns of a wider Middle-East conflict.

The strike targeted an SUV driven by Wissam al-Tawil, a commander in the secretive Hezbollah force that operates along the Israel-Lebanon border, according to a Lebanese security official speaking anonymously.

Hezbollah confirmed that al-Tawil had been killed without providing further details.

He is the most senior militant in the armed group to be killed since Hamas’ October 7 attack into southern Israel triggered all-out war in Gaza and lower-intensity fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Fighting has escalated since an Israeli strike killed senior Hamas leader, Saleh Arouri, last week in Beirut.

It comes after visits from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to regional capitals in the Middle East in a bid to head off a wider conflict from the Israel-Hamas war.

Israel said it has largely concluded major operations in northern Gaza and is now focused on the central region and southern city of Khan Younis.

Israeli officials have said the fighting will continue for many more months as the army seeks to dismantle Hamas and return hostages taken during the militant group’s October 7 attack.

Hamas' attack from Gaza into southern Israel killed around 1,200 people, and some 250 others were taken hostage.

Israel’s air, ground and sea assault in Gaza has killed more than 22,400 people, two-thirds of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-ruled territory.

The count does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.

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