The Israel Defence Forces on Sunday said that it killed another high-ranking Hezbollah official, Nabil Kaouk, in a precise strike. The announcement came a day after the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group confirmed the death of multiple commanders, including its chief and co-founder Hassan Nasrallah's death in Israeli airstrikes.
Israeli military forces said that Nabil Kaouk, was the Commander of Hezbollah's Preventative Security Unit and a member of their Executive Council. A few hours after Israel's announcement, Hezbollah confirmed that Kaouk had been slain in Israeli strikes. He was the seventh senior leader that was killed by Israel in a little over a week.
"Qaouk was close to Hezbollah's senior commanders and was directly engaged in terrorist attacks against the State of Israel and its citizens. He joined Hezbollah in the 1980s and was regarded as an important source of expertise in his field, having served as the Deputy Commander of the southern region on the Operational Council, Commander of the southern region and Deputy Commander of the Operational Council," IDF wrote in a post on X, announcing the Hezbollah leader's death.
IDF also emphasised that it will continue to "strike and eliminate" commanders within the Hezbollah and "act against anyone who threatens Israel".
Earlier today, 11 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on northeast Lebanon. Israel stated that it is carrying out attacks on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.
Hezbollah has continued to launch rockets and missiles into northern Israel. However, most of them get intercepted or fall in open areas. According to AP, no Israelis have been killed since the strikes between the Israel and Hezbollah intensified following the pagers blasts.
The Israeli military also claimed to have uncovered and dismantled a Hamas tunnel in central Gaza that was over a kilometer long. It was located near residential buildings, and had several rooms and equipments used by militants during their prolonged stays, Associated Press reported.
More than 2,11,000 people are said to have been displaced by the conflict from southern Lebanon, the report said, citing the United Nations.
Hezbollah and Israel have traded near-daily strikes ever since the latter's war with Hamas began after the October 7 attack by the Palestinian militant group.
After Hezbollah confirmed Nasrallah's death, Iran Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a statement condemning Israel's actions and said that the "Zionist criminal" is "far to weak to inflict damage on Hezbollah". He also mourned Nasrallah's death and urged Muslims all over the world to come together in solidarity with the group. Protests were also witnessed in Kashmir's Srinagar and Budgam areas, as people held a protest march and raised anti-US and anti-Israel slogans.