The terrorist group claims that Wissam Al-Tawil was killed in southern Lebanon. This is a ‘painful blow’ to the Radwan elite unit.

On Monday, an alleged Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon killed a senior commander from a Hezbollah secret force. This heightened tensions in the region as violence near the border threatened to turn into armed conflict.

Wissam Al-Tawil was killed by a missile that slammed his SUV in Majdal Selm in Lebanon, according to Lebanese sources. Analysts said the strike was a major blow for the Iran-backed terror group.

As the US Secretary of state Antony Blinken makes a quick trip to the area, the apparent assassination is likely to complicate his efforts to prevent Israel’s conflict with Hamas on the Gaza Strip expanding to a second front.

Hezbollah confirmed the death of Tawil, listing him as a fighter in their group but providing few details.

Israel Defense Forces confirmed that fighter jets had struck Hezbollah in Lebanon including the sites where members of the terror group were operating but they did not confirm Tawil’s death.

Tawil is from Khirbet Selm which is located near Majdal Selm and about 10 km (6 miles) north of northern Israel.

Initially, reports called him the deputy commander of an elite unit in the Radwan force. However, various news agencies later identified him as a leader, and some Israeli reports claimed he was its top official.

Lebanese officials confirmed that a second Hezbollah member in Tawil’s car was also killed during the same attack.

Tawil is one of the highest-ranking Hezbollah leaders to have been killed in the three months since the outbreak of hostilities on the Israel/Lebanon border.

Hezbollah launched rockets, drones, and anti-tank weapons over the border on October 8 in support of Hamas, a terror group that was also attacked by Israel after the massacres of October 7 in southern Israel.

A second Lebanese source of security said that the strike was “very painful”, while another stated that “things are going to flare up right now.”

Hezbollah released a series photos of Tawil wearing fatigues after the news of his death. Other photos show him with Hassan Nasrallah of the terror group, Imad Mughniyeh who was killed in Syria in 2008. He also appears in pictures with the assassinated Iranian General Qassem Solimani. These pictures indicate his status among the arrays of Tehran-backed terrorist groups that have increased attacks against Israel and US forces.

In an interview with Israel Katz on Monday evening, the Foreign Minister said that Israel had killed Tawil. This made him the first Israeli official who claimed responsibility for the attack, even though it was widely believed that the IDF was responsible.

Israel prefers to keep its foreign policy vague, and Katz, the new Foreign Minister who was appointed earlier this month in accordance with a rotation agreement, has made it clear that Israel does not accept responsibility for a strike that took place last week, which killed Hamas’ deputy leader Saleh Al-Arouri, in Beirut.

“Regarding this attack in Southern Lebanon, yes we took responsibility for the killing of the Quds force commander,” Katz said to the right-wing Channel 14 television network. The channel corrected him when he referred to the Radwan Force instead of the foreign arm the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Katz added, “This is a part of war.”

Radwan is Hezbollah’s elite commando unit. The unit was reportedly stationed near Israel’s northern borders and planned an attack on northern Israel. However, after Hamas’s surprise attack, the plot was put off.

Abbas Raad is another member of the Radwan forces killed in the hostilities. He is the son of a prominent Hezbollah leader. He was killed by an apparent Israeli attack in November.

The daily exchanges of gunfire on the restive border between Israel and Lebanon seem to have intensified in recent days after an alleged Israeli attack last week, which killed Arouri who lived under Hezbollah protection in a Beirut suburb.

Hezbollah launched a barrage on Saturday of over 40 rockets, including several missiles, at an air traffic control station atop Mount Meron in Israel. It was one of the largest attacks Hezbollah has carried out in recent years. According to video released by the terror group, two radar domes have been hit by antitank guided missiles. The IDF acknowledged that damage to unspecified objects was done, but did not elaborate.

Israel has warned that it will go to war if the attacks against Hamas do not stop. Currently, 80,000 residents of northern Israel have been displaced due to the fighting. Tens of thousands more from the south were evacuated because of the Hamas assault and the ensuing conflict.

In comments published in the Wall Street Journal, Defense Minister Yoav Galant stated that “the priority is not to get into war”. He added, “We are willing to make sacrifices… They know what’s happening in Gaza.” They know that we can copy and paste to Beirut.”

Nine IDF soldiers and four civilians were killed in the skirmishes. Syria has also launched several attacks without causing any injuries.

Hezbollah named 153 of its members killed by Israel in the current skirmishes. Most were in Lebanon, but some were also in Syria. Nineteen operatives of other terror groups as well as a Lebanese Soldier and 19 civilians – including three journalists – were killed in Lebanon.

The terrorist group has responded to Israel’s threats with their own while also claiming that they do not want war.

Nasrallah, in a speech last week to mark the anniversary of Soleimani’s death, said: “If the enemy considers war against Lebanon, we will not fight with restraint, rules, limits or restrictions.”

Yoel Guzansky, senior researcher at Israel’s Institute for National Security Studies, Tel Aviv University, said that “neither side wants war, but both sides believe it’s inevitable.” He said that “everyone in Israel believes it is only a matter time before we have to change reality” to allow residents of the North to return to their homes.

Hezbollah- and Iran’s-backed sources have told Reuters Israel has also increased attacks on the terror group recently in Syria, indicating that tacit agreements designed to prevent tensions from escalating over the years were pushed aside by the conflict.

The commander of an alliance backed by Iran said that Israeli raids on Hezbollah-managed arms transfers were preceded by warning shots. “They would fire near the truck and our guys would jump out, then they’d strike the truck,” the commander stated.