Iranian-backed Hezbollah terrorist group suffered a major blow after an Israeli drone strike on Wednesday eliminated one of its top-most commanders since the October 7 attacks. The slain Hezbollah terrorist, Muhammad Neamah Naser “was considered one of the most senior commanders in Hezbollah killed so far in the war,” the Jerusalem Post reported Wednesday.
Naser was “commander of the Hezbollah terrorist organization’s Aziz Unit which is responsible for firing from southwestern Lebanon at Israeli territory,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a press statement Wednesday.
He “led the firing of rockets and anti-tank missiles from southwestern Lebanon toward Israeli civilians, communities, and security forces,” the IDF statement noted. Since October 7, an estimated 60,000 civilians have been forced to flee their homes in northern Israel as Hezbollah intensifies deadly rocket and drone attacks.
The news comes exactly three weeks after Sami Taleb Abdullah, a senior Hezbollah terror commander, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon. “Naser was the counterpart of Sami Taleb Abdullah, the commander of the Nasser Unit, who was eliminated last month. Together, they served as two of the most significant Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon,” the IDF statement added.
The Israeli news website YNET reported the killing of the senior Hezbollah terrorist:
The IDF confirmed the assassination of Muhammad Neamah Naser, also known as Abu Neamah, the head of Hezbollah’s Aziz regional division, and one of the terrorist group’s most senior commanders eliminated since the outbreak of the war.According to an army statement, Naser entered his position in 2016 and led the firing of rockets and anti-tank missiles from southwestern Lebanon toward Israeli civilians, communities and security forces. The statement added that Naser directed a large number of terror attacks toward Israel both during and before the war and has previously filled several other central roles within Hezbollah.The Shiite terrorist organization confirmed his death. Another individual, whose identity has yet to be determined, was also killed alongside him.Security sources in the country confirmed that Nasser was the commander of Hezbollah’s Aziz regional division, holding a rank equivalent to Abu Taleb, the highest-ranking Hezbollah commander assassinated by Israel in Lebanon to date. (…)Abu Neamah resided in the town of Haddatha in southern Lebanon, which has been a target of IDF strikes since the start of the war. He was assassinated in a vehicle by a drone strike southeast of Tyre. Some reports suggest his son was also killed in the attack, though these have yet to be confirmed.In (…) statement, Hezbollah referred to him as a “martyr commander,” a title previously given to only two other assassinated commanders: Radwan forces commander Wissam al-Tawil, killed in January, and Abu Taleb, killed last month. In total, Hezbollah has confirmed the deaths of 360 of its operatives since the beginning of the war.
Hezbollah responded to the killing of its top terror commander by firing over 100 rockets at Israel. “In the hours following the airstrike [that killed Nasser], at least 100 rockets were fired from Lebanon at Kiryat Shmona, other areas in the Galilee Panhandle, as well as at the northern Golan Heights, the military said,” the Times of Israel reported. “The IDF said most of the rockets struck open areas. There were no reports of injuries.”
The senior terror commander was eliminated as Iran and Hezbollah threatened to launch a full-scale war on Israel. Hezbollah terror chief Hassan Nasrallah recently threatened to unleash war ‘without limits’ against Israel. Earlier this week, a senior Iranian general revealed that Tehran is itching to launch another direct missile strike on Israel.
For nearly a week, the Israeli ground troops have been carrying out a counter-terrorism raid in the Shejaiya area of northern Gaza. The raid is part of IDF’s larger objective of creating “terrorist-free zones” in areas liberated from Hamas, latest news reports suggest.
“In the area of Shejaiya, IDF troops eliminated terrorists, located weapons, and dismantled terror infrastructure sites,” the military said in a statement Wednesday. “Over the past day, the IAF struck and dismantled over 50 terror infrastructure sites. Moreover, during targeted raids, IDF troops located operational tunnel shafts and weaponry, including AK-47 rifles, grenades, magazines, and additional military equipment.”
The push to capture the last-intact Hamas stronghold of Rafah also continues, with the Israeli military destroying terrorist infrastructure and eliminating the jihadist fighting force in the southernmost part of Gaza. “The IDF is continuing a targeted, intelligence-based operational activity in the Rafah area. In cooperation with IDF ground troops, the IAF [Israeli Air Force] dismantled several terror infrastructure sites and eliminated terrorists in the area,” the IDF disclosed.
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