Israel eliminated a senior Islamic Guard (IRGC) commander, Abbas Nilforoushan, in Friday’s airstrike that killed Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon’s capital Beirut.
“Israeli officials and Iranian media reports also said Iranian Brigadier Gen. Abbas Nilforoushan, the Revolutionary Guard commander in Lebanon, was killed. Tehran has not confirmed that,” Axios reported Saturday.
Nilforoushan, Hezbollah’s key Iranian advisor, was behind the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations in Iran. He appears to be second-in-command when it comes to military operations. In a 2020 article, the Israeli news website YNET identified him as the Islamic “Guard’s deputy commander for operations.”
The confirmation of the top IRGC commander’s elimination raises the number of senior terrorists killed in Friday’s Israeli airstrike on Hezbollah’s headquarters in the Dahieh suburb of Beirut. Ali Karaki, Nesrallah’s second-in-commander, was also taken out in the same strike.
The Jerusalem Post reported:
Iran Revolutionary Guards’ deputy commander Abbas Nilforoushan was killed in the Israeli strikes on Beirut on Friday, Iranian media reported on Saturday.The IRGC commander was killed in strikes alongside Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.Nilforoushan was a key player in Iranian actions in the region, advising Hezbollah on military and diplomatic affairs, according to Khabar Online.He is believed to have played a major role in crushing protests against the Iranian regime and fought with the Assad regime during the Syrian Civil War.Nilforoushan had previously hinted at attacks on Israel, according to Iran International.The IRGC official told Etemad Online in February that Iran was keeping track of the “enemies” activities and would “settle scores” on a regular basis with them.
Despite the elimination of Nasrallah and large parts of Hezbollah’s command structure, the terrorist group remains a significant military threat on Israel’s northern border.
The Iran-backed terrorist group continued to fire rockets at Israeli towns and cities. “Some 90 rockets were fired at Israel from Lebanon today, according to the IDF,” the Times of Israel reported Saturday afternoon. “Most of the Hezbollah attacks targeted northern Israel, although several long-range missiles were also fired toward Tel Aviv and the West Bank.”
The IDF was taking out Hezbollah terror targets, particularly in southern Lebanon, in retaliatory strikes. “The IDF continues to strike Hezbollah terrorist targets in Lebanon. Among the targets that were struck are Hezbollah launchers that were aimed toward Israeli territory, structures in which weapons were stored and additional Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure,” the Israeli military said in a press release Saturday, “The IDF is continuing to operate to degrade and dismantle Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure and capabilities.”
Amid threats from the Iranian regime after Nasrallah’s death, the Israeli military was prepared for further hostilities from Tehran and its terror proxies, IDF Chief of the General Staff, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, assured Saturday. “The IDF is at peak readiness, both in defense and offense, across all fronts, and is prepared for what comes next,” he said.
“Yesterday, shortly before Shabbat, we conducted a precise strike, eliminating Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah. This took place in Hezbollah’s underground headquarters in the heart of Beirut, along with other senior officials in the terrorist organization,” Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi said.
“Nasrallah indiscriminately murdered Israeli civilians and aimed to end this war with the destruction of the State of Israel. We made sure that did not occur. We eliminated him, and we will continue to grow stronger,” he added. “Hezbollah has murdered innocent people worldwide, hiding his weapons under the homes of families, women and children and turning them into human shields.”
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY