Hezbollah’s Drone Chief Killed in Beirut
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – The head of one of Hezbollah’s arial forces has been killed in an Israeli strike on Beirut, the Lebanese capital, security sources say.
Mohammad Surur was reportedly killed when Israel hit Beirut’s southern suburbs on Thursday after several other Hezbollah leaders died in ongoing counter-attacks by Israel against the Lebanon-based, Iran-backed Islamic group.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Surur oversaw numerous drone and missile attacks on Israeli territory.
Over the last few years, he had reportedly been a project leader in drone production and set up drone production sites, several of which were apparently embedded in civilian structures in Beirut and other locations in Lebanon.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved the operation to target him from onboard “the Wing of Zion plane” while en route to the United States, said the Prime Minister’s Office.
Israeli Air Force jets targeted a specific floor of a multi-story building in Beirut’s southern Dahieh area, a Hezbollah stronghold, security sources said.
The Lebanese Hezbollah-affiliated news outlet Al Mayadeen claimed four had been killed and others were wounded as a result of the strike.
DEFYING CEASEFIRE CALLS
These figures were complex to verify independently.
The latest skirmishes came as Israel on Thursday rejected defied calls from several allies, including the United States, for a halt in fighting following Hezbollah’s attacks on the Jewish nation.
“We will not stop until we achieve all our objectives, first and foremost the return of the northern residents to their homes,” Netanyahu said after landing in New York.
He added that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would continue with a military campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon.
“Our policy is clear, ” Netanyahu said, so “nobody should misunderstand it.”
He spoke as U.S. President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron, together with ten other countries, urged all parties involved in the violence in northern Israel and southern Lebanon to accept a 21-day ceasefire.