JERUSALEM — The Israeli military reported on Sunday that it had killed another high-ranking Hezbollah official in an airstrike, further impacting the Lebanese militant group already reeling from a series of heavy blows and the killing of its leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
The military confirmed that Nabil Kaouk, the deputy head of Hezbollah’s Central Council, was killed on Saturday. Hezbollah acknowledged his death, making him the seventh senior Hezbollah leader killed in Israeli strikes in just over a week. Among those killed are founding members who had evaded death or detention for decades.
The Israeli military stated that it carried out another targeted strike on Beirut later on Sunday, with further details to be released.
Hezbollah had earlier confirmed that Ali Karaki, another senior commander, died in Friday’s strike that killed Nasrallah. The Israeli military previously stated that Karaki was killed in the airstrike, which targeted an underground compound in Beirut where Nasrallah and other senior Hezbollah figures were meeting.
Israel reported that at least 20 other Hezbollah militants were killed in the strike, including two close associates of Nasrallah, one of whom was responsible for his security detail.
Wreckage from the strike was still smoldering more than two days later. On Sunday, Associated Press journalists observed smoke over the rubble as people gathered at the site, some to assess the damage to their homes and others to pay respects, pray or simply to witness the destruction.
Hezbollah has also been the target of a sophisticated attack on its pagers and walkie-talkies, widely attributed to Israel. A wave of Israeli airstrikes across significant parts of Lebanon has resulted in the deaths of at least 1,030 people — including 156 women and 87 children — in less than two weeks, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced from their homes in Lebanon due to the latest strikes. The government estimates that around 250,000 are seeking shelter, with three to four times that number staying with friends or relatives, or camping out on the streets, Environment Minister Nasser Yassin told the AP.
Hezbollah has continued launching rockets and missiles into northern Israel, but most have been intercepted or landed in open areas. No Israelis have been killed since the latest wave of strikes targeting top Hezbollah leaders began on Sept. 20.
Kaouk was a veteran member of Hezbollah dating back to the 1980s and served as Hezbollah’s military commander in southern Lebanon during the 2006 war with Israel. He frequently appeared in local media, offering commentary on political and security matters, and delivered eulogies at the funerals of senior militants. The United States imposed sanctions against him in 2020.
Hezbollah began firing rockets, missiles, and drones into northern Israel after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack from Gaza ignited the conflict there. Hezbollah and Hamas are allies, both considering themselves part of an Iran-backed “Axis of Resistance” against Israel.
Israel has responded with a series of airstrikes, and the conflict has steadily escalated to the brink of all-out war, raising concerns about a region-wide conflagration.
Israel asserts its determination to return some 60,000 of its citizens to communities in the north that were evacuated nearly a year ago. Hezbollah has stated that it will only cease its rocket fire if there is a ceasefire in Gaza, which has remained elusive despite months of indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas facilitated by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt.
