Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have succeeded in eliminating key Hezbollah and Hamas commanders, Israeli media reported Tuesday.
An Israeli drone strike on Tuesday reportedly killed Ali Najib Baydoun, commander of Hezbollah’s ‘special operations unit’ based in southern Lebanon, Israeli and Arab media claim.
With the Israeli military widening the ground operation, Hamas lost two senior terrorists. The most significant blow to the Gaza-based terror group came from the elimination of Muhammad al-‘Ajlah, commander of its Shejaiya battalion.
“Throughout the war, the terrorist al-‘Ajlah served as the commander of a combat support company in the Shejaiya battalion,” the IDF said in a statement Tuesday. “He was responsible for arming the battalion’s terrorists with weapons used to carry out terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF troops.”
Al-‘Ajlah headed the terrorist battalion for less than a week. The IDF eliminated his predecessor, Haitham Rizq Abd al-Karim Sheikh Khalil, in a recent strike.
He is the fifth Shejaiya battalion commander to be killed since October 7, 2023. “Al-‘Ajlah was the fifth commander of Hamas’s Shejaiya battalion to be killed since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war and the third since the start of the renewed operations in Gaza,” the Jerusalem Post observed, citing military sources.
The IDF eliminated Hamza Wael Muhammad Asafah, chief of a Hamas-Nukhba terrorist cell, which committed horrendous crimes on October 7. Asafah was “head of a Nukhba terrorist cell in Hamas’ Deir-al Balah battalion who infiltrated Israeli territory and took part in the October 7th murderous massacre,” the IDF said in a statement Tuesday.
He also attended a depraved hostage release ‘ceremony’ staged by Hamas in early February. He and his fellow jihadists were at the scene when Hamas released three frail and emaciated hostages: Eli Sharabi, 52, Or Levy, 34, and Ohad Ben Ami, 56.
“Approximately two weeks ago, the IDF and ISA [Shin Bet security service] struck and eliminated in central Gaza the terrorist Hamza Wael Muhammad Asafah, head of a Nukhba terrorist cell in Hamas’s Deir-al-Balah battalion who infiltrated Israeli territory and took part in the October 7th murderous massacre,” the Israeli news website Arutz Sheva reported Tuesday. “As part of his role in the terrorist organization, Asafah participated in the cynical hostage release ceremony of the returning Israeli hostages Eliyahu Sharabi, Ohad Ben-Ami, and Or Levy.”
Reports suggest that Asafah was the same terrorist who was captured on a surveillance camera hurling two grenades into a safe house where Israeli civilians had taken shelter during the October 7 attack:
A Hezbollah commander, who led a terrorist special operations unit, was killed in an Israeli drone strike in Lebanon. The Lebanese media identified the slain terrorist as Ali Najib Baydoun.
Hezbollah’s “special forces,” trained by Iran’s Islamic Guard (IRGC), had advance plans of invading Israel in an October 7-style attack. As part of Hezbollah’s “Conquest of the Galilee” plan, these terrorist units were trained to breach the Israeli border, and massacre troops and civilians.
The Times of Israel reported Tuesday:
The IDF says it killed a Hezbollah commander in a drone strike in southern Lebanon’s Aitaroun earlier today.According to the IDF, the strike killed a team commander in Hezbollah’s special operations unit.The IDF does not name the operative, but Lebanese media identify him as Ali Najib Baydoun.
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