Israeli strike kills senior Hezbollah commander Abu Haidar al-Khafaji in Syria - Reports

A significant airstrike by the Israeli Air Force has reportedly killed Abu Haidar al-Khafaji, a senior commander of the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah, near Damascus International Airport, Syria.

Sunita Iyer

First Published Sep 20, 2024, 2:44 PM IST | Last Updated Sep 20, 2024, 3:35 PM IST

A significant airstrike by the Israeli Air Force has reportedly killed Abu Haidar al-Khafaji, a senior commander of the Iranian-backed Kataib Hezbollah, near Damascus International Airport, Syria. The reported attack occurred on Friday morning, targeting a vehicle he was traveling in on the road leading to the airport.

Also read: Lebanon: Leaked document reveals 879 Hezbollah members killed in pager, walkie-talkie explosions; details here

Initial reports indicate that another individual was injured in the strike. According to sources from Saudi Al-Hadath, the strike has raised concerns about the security dynamics in the region, potentially altering the balance of power among various militant groups.

Syrian authorities have not issued an official statement regarding the incident, and information about the strike is still limited. Additionally, no formal response from Israel has been provided at this time, leaving many questions unanswered about the implications of this attack in the region.

The strike comes hours after Israel conducted extensive airstrikes on southern Lebanon, targeting over 100 Hezbollah rocket launchers and other "terrorist sites," including a weapons storage facility. The Israeli military stated that these operations aim to diminish Hezbollah's capabilities in the region.

Israeli Army's strike comes after pagers and walkie-talkies exploded across Lebanon this week, targeting unconfirmed number of Hezbollah members. A leaked internal document claimed that 879 members of the group were killed in the device explosions, however, an official confirmation is awaited. According to Lebanese authorities, Tuesday and Wednesday's explosions killed 37 people and injured over 3,000.

Also read: 100 rocket launchers, 1000 canisters: Hezbollah targets ablaze after Israeli strikes in Lebanon (WATCH)

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has declared that the deadly explosions earlier this week "crossed all red lines," accusing Israel of making a declaration of war.

In a statement late on Thursday, the IDF said its warplanes "struck approximately 100 launchers and additional terrorist infrastructure sites, consisting of approximately 1,000 barrels that were ready to be used in the immediate future to fire toward Israeli territory".

"The IDF will continue to operate to degrade the Hezbollah terrorist organisation’s infrastructure and capabilities in order to defend the state of Israel."

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