IDF says it killed Hezbollah commander behind many attacks on Israel
Military confirms drone strike on Muhammad Qassem al-Shaer deep inside Lebanon; Iran-backed Lebanese terror group also announces his death, but gives no details of his activities
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday said it killed a commander in Lebanese terror group Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force with a drone strike deep in Lebanon.
According to the IDF, Muhammad Qassem al-Shaer was involved in many attacks on Israel. The military said his killing “is another blow to the ability of the Hezbollah terror organization to advance and carry out terror attacks from southern Lebanon against the Israeli home front on the northern border.”
The IDF announcement confirmed earlier reports alleging a deadly Israeli drone strike in the Beqaa Valley.
Hezbollah also said that al-Shaer had been killed, but did not give any details of his role within the Iran-backed group.
It was the latest development in an escalating conflict that started when Hezbollah began attacking Israel along the northern border last October.
Al-Shaer was targeted on a road near Lake Qaraoun in the Beqaa Valley, some 40 kilometers (24 miles) from the Israeli border.
The IDF published footage of the strike.
כלי-טיס של חיל-האוויר תקף וחיסל את המחבל, מחמד קאסם אלשאער במרחב קרעון, אשר שימש כמפקד ביחידת רדואן של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה.
מחמד קאסם אלשאער קידם מתווי טרור רבים כנגד מדינת ישראל. חיסול זה מהווה פגיעה נוספת ביכולות ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה לקדם ולבצע פעולות טרור מדרום לבנון כנגד… pic.twitter.com/zevBSxqYRl
— Israeli Air Force (@IAFsite) September 10, 2024
Al-Shaer’s death brings the terror group’s death toll in IDF strikes since October to at least 434, among them several commanders in the Radwan force.
The Radwan force is believed by Israeli officials to be tasked with potentially infiltrating the country.
Earlier Tuesday, Lebanese media reported a separate alleged Israeli drone strike on an apartment in the town of Zebdine on the outskirts of the city of Nabatieh.
No further details were immediately available and the IDF has not commented on that incident.
???? Initial reports on targeted elimination in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/WUU03CONgy
— Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) September 10, 2024
On Monday, Hezbollah launched explosive-laden drones and dozens of rockets at northern Israel, while Israel Defense Forces returned fire on terror targets in southern Lebanon. One of the Hezbollah drones impacted a high-rise residential building in the coastal city of Nahariya, causing damage but no injuries.
The exchanges of fire came as a senior US official reportedly told the Middle East America Dialogue (MEAD) summit in Washington, DC, that a full-blown war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon could have “catastrophic and unforeseen consequences.”
In quotes from the conference published by Hebrew media sites, the US official warned that thousands, or even tens of thousands, of people, could be killed if the tensions escalated into an all-out war, along with heavy damage to both Israeli and Lebanese infrastructure.
The comments came amid near-daily attacks from Hezbollah-led forces on Israeli communities and military posts along the border since October 8, with the terror group saying it is doing so to support Gaza during the war there against its ruler, Hamas, that started on October 7 with the latter terror group’s devastating onslaught in southern Israel.
Tensions have been particularly high in recent weeks, with Hezbollah vowing retaliation for Israel’s assassination of its top military commander in Beirut in July. Israel said it foiled part of the terror group’s response to the killing in mid-August, when IDF fighter jets struck thousands of Hezbollah rocket launcher barrels in southern Lebanon, including some believed to be aimed at Mossad headquarters.
Eleven months of cross-border skirmishes have so far resulted in 26 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 20 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
