Hezbollah's spokesman is killed during an attack in downtown Beirut

2024-11-17 17:33:01, Kosova & Bota CNA

A rare Israeli airstrike in downtown Beirut has killed the main spokesman for Hezbollah, the militant group and political party that controls most of southern Lebanon.

This was confirmed by an official of Hezbollah, the group that is declared a terrorist organization by the United States. Meanwhile, the European Union has blacklisted the military wing of the group, but not the political party. The Hezbollah party has seats in the Lebanese Parliament.

The killing of the senior Hezbollah official comes as Lebanese officials are considering a US-backed ceasefire proposal.

Mohammed Afif, Hezbollah's head of media communications, was killed during an attack on the offices of the Arab socialist Baath party in central Beirut, said the Hezbollah official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak. the media.

Afif had been quite active in the media since the exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel intensified in September of this year.

Israel has killed several senior Hezbollah officials, including the group's leader, Hassan Nasreallah.

There were no warnings from Israel to evacuate before the attack in downtown Beirut, while Israel has not yet commented on the case.

On November 17, Israel also attacked several buildings in the southern suburbs of Beirut, where Hezbollah has its headquarters. Before the attacks were carried out on the outskirts of Beirut, Israel had issued orders for the evacuation of civilians.

Hezbollah and Israel began exchanging fire on the border in October last year, when the war in Gaza began between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian group declared a terrorist organization by the US and the EU.

Israel has intensified airstrikes in Lebanon since September 23 and then launched a ground offensive.

Lebanese authorities have said that more than 3,452 people have been killed since October last year and most of the casualties have been recorded since September this year. Meanwhile, Israel has reported 48 killed during the fighting with Hezbollah./ REL