IDF says drone strike in south Lebanon kills Hezbollah anti-tank commander
Hassan Kamal Halawi targeted near Nabatieh; army says he posed threat to Israel amid ongoing ceasefire
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
A Hezbollah commander was killed in an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon on Monday evening, the military said on Tuesday.
The incident was the latest in a series of Israeli strikes on members of the Lebanese terror group amid an ongoing ceasefire, whom Israel says posed a threat.
Lebanon’s health ministry said the drone strike on a vehicle late Monday in the village of Qaaqaait al-Jisr, near Nabatieh, killed one person.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, the strike targeted and killed Hassan Kamal Halawi, the chief of Hezbollah’s anti-tank missile unit in southern Lebanon.
“During the war, Halawi was responsible for numerous terror attacks against Israel. He facilitated the movement of operatives and the supply of weapons into southern Lebanon. In recent months, Halawi continued to engage in terrorist activity against Israeli civilians,” the army said in a statement.
The IDF added that he was targeted because he posed a threat to the country.
مراسلة الأخبار: استشهاد مواطن جراء استهداف سيارته في وسط قعقعية الجسر – قضاء النبطية pic.twitter.com/3h2nnZNKX3
— امال خليل (@AmalKhalil83) March 24, 2025
Footage published by Lebanese media purported to show the aftermath of the strike.
▪️ حسن كمال حلاوة الملقب بـ "أسامة" مسؤول وحدة مكافحة الدروع في الحزب#جنوب_لبنان pic.twitter.com/uWXnfNTL0N
— Raymond Hakim (@RaymondFHakim) March 24, 2025
On Sunday, the IDF said it killed another Hezbollah operative in a drone strike in southern Lebanon.
Saturday saw the most intense escalation since a November ceasefire halted the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, after six rockets were fired from Lebanon at the northern Israeli community of Metula.
Hezbollah denied any involvement in the Saturday rocket attack on Metula and called Israel’s accusations “pretexts for its continued attacks on Lebanon.”
The November ceasefire brought relative calm after a year of hostilities, including two months of open war between Israel and Hezbollah.
The terror group started firing rockets and drones at Israeli communities and military posts on October 8, 2023, in support of fellow terror group Hamas, which had invaded Israel from the Gaza Strip a day earlier.
Israel has continued to strike Lebanon since the ceasefire went into effect, targeting Hezbollah military sites that it says violated the agreement.
Under the ceasefire, Hezbollah was obligated to pull its forces north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the Israeli border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south, while the Lebanese army deploys to control the area.
Israel, in parallel, was obligated to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon, though it retains the right to respond to immediate threats.
Following an initial postponement, with US and Lebanese approval, of the deadline to withdraw, Israel pulled all its troops out of Lebanon in February, with the exception of five strategic posts along the border.
The Times of Israel Community.