ELIMINATED! Israel claims Hezbollah's anti-tank missile commander killed in Lebanon airstrike (WATCH)

In a significant development amid escalating tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced that a senior commander of Hezbollah’s anti-tank missile unit has been killed in an Israeli airstrike.

In a significant development amid escalating tensions on the Israel-Lebanon border, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Friday announced that a senior commander of Hezbollah’s anti-tank missile unit has been killed in an Israeli airstrike. The commander, identified as Araeb el Shoga, was a key figure in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan forces, a unit specializing in offensive operations against Israeli targets.

According to the IDF, Araeb el Shoga had been responsible for overseeing a series of recent attacks, including the firing of anti-tank missiles directed toward the Ramot Naftali area in northern Israel. The airstrike that killed him was conducted in the village of Meiss Ej-Jabal, a Hezbollah stronghold in southern Lebanon, and was executed in close coordination with the IDF’s 91st Division.

The IDF has described this operation as part of its ongoing efforts to neutralize Hezbollah’s capabilities, which have intensified in recent days with repeated rocket and missile attacks on northern Israeli towns and military installations.

"Araeb el Shoga, a commander in the Hezbollah Radwan Forces’ Anti-tank Missile Unit in the Area of Meiss El Jabal in southern Lebanon, was eliminated," wrote IDF in a statement on X.

"El Araeb was responsible for numerous anti-tank missile attacks in northern Israel," the IDF added.

"Additionally, the IAF struck terrorists who were operating inside a structure adjacent to IDF troops in southern Lebanon. Following the strike, numerous secondary explosions were identified, indicating the presence of large quantities of weapons in the area," the statement concluded.

The Israeli Air Force has been highly active in southern Lebanon, carrying out multiple airstrikes against Hezbollah targets. Among the sites hit were weapons warehouses, a strategic observation post, and additional rocket launchers. These strikes come in response to what the IDF describes as increasing provocations by Hezbollah, which has escalated its activities since the outbreak of renewed conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.