Hezbollah official killed in drive-by shooting outside his home in eastern Lebanon
Lebanese media identifies official as terror group’s local commander in Western Bekaa District; motive for attack not immediately certain

A senior Hezbollah official in eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley region was shot dead Tuesday in what Lebanese media reported was an apparent assassination.
The official, named by Lebanon’s National News Agency as local Hezbollah commander Sheikh Muhammad Hamadi, was shot six times in a drive-by shooting outside of his home in Machghara in the Western Bekaa District.
The gunmen, who were driving two separate cars, then fled the scene of the attack, Lebanese news outlets reported, citing the Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar television.
Hamadi was transported to a hospital in the area, where he died shortly later.
Lebanese authorities have opened an investigation into the shooting, and Al-Manar reported said the motive was not immediately clear. According to An-Nahar news outlet, however, the assassination stemmed from a years-long interfamilial feud and was not politically motivated.
The deadly shooting occurred days before the end of the initial 60-day ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hezbollah.
Under the terms of the agreement signed in late November, Israel has until January 26 to withdraw from southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah must retreat north of the Litani River, some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the border with Israel.
After the 60 days are up, the Lebanese Armed Forces and UNIFIL will be the only armed forces permitted to maintain a presence between Israel and the Litani. Reports in Israel have suggested that the deadline could be extended, ostensibly due to the Lebanese military’s failure to deploy throughout the region quickly enough.
The US- and France-brokered ceasefire in late November came two months after Israel massively escalated operations in Lebanon in a bid to stem Hezbollah’s persistent rocket fire, which forced the displacement of some 60,000 residents of northern Israel.
Israel’s offensive in Lebanon all but decimated Hezbollah’s top brass, drastically weakening the terror group.
Unprovoked, Hezbollah began its near-daily attacks on October 8, 2023 — a day after fellow Iran-backed group Hamas stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.