Israel Kills Deputy Hezbollah Rocketry Chief

Latest Developments

Israel killed Hezbollah’s deputy rocketry chief in Lebanon on March 29 and was accused by Syria of carrying out a separate airstrike against the Iranian-backed terrorist group near Aleppo.

Ali Abed Akhsan Naim, deputy commander of the Hezbollah Rocket and Missile Unit, was targeted in a car in the Bazouriye district of Lebanon. Publishing an aerial video of the operation, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said he had specialized in heavy-warhead ordnance and had been responsible for planning and carrying out attacks on Israeli civilians.

Hours earlier, Syrian sources said an Israeli airstrike killed five Hezbollah members south of Aleppo as well as a number of military personnel and civilians. The IDF declined to comment.

With Hezbollah refusing international calls to cease attacks on Israel and back away from the Lebanon-Israel border, there has been increased speculation that IDF counterattacks in Lebanon could spiral into a full-blown war. Israel has also been watching Syria, where Iran and Hezbollah have spent years trying to set up a second front against the Jewish state.

Expert Analysis

“On an almost daily basis, the Israelis have been warning Lebanon, and anyone else listening, that Hezbollah is playing with fire. For now, Israel has been ‘dousing the flames’ at the edges, with high-quality attacks on key figures in the terrorist group. By Hezbollah’s own account, it has now lost upward of 250 fighters to Israeli retaliation strikes. If one assumes that threefold that have been wounded, that would represent a loss of as many as 1,000 front-line personnel — or perhaps more than a third of the elite Radwan Force.” — Mark Dubowitz, FDD CEO

“Israeli intelligence has been conducting successful operations targeting Hezbollah’s command structures in Lebanon since the beginning of the war. The strike on Ali Naim not only dealt a blow to the group but also sent a clear message that Israel will retaliate decisively against those who threaten its security.” — Joe Truzman, Senior Research Analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal