The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced today that they have “neutralized” a regional Hezbollah commander in Lebanon amidst an ongoing campaign of intense bombardments and ground operations targeting the Lebanese Shiite movement.

In a statement, the IDF reported, “We struck and neutralized Abu Ali Rida, the commander of the Baraachit area in southern Lebanon.”

Abu Ali Rida was “responsible for planning and organizing rocket and anti-tank missile attacks against Israeli forces and oversaw Hezbollah’s terrorist activities in the area,” the statement added.

מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר, בהכוונת אוגדה 36, תקפו וחיסלו את המחבל אבו עלי רצ'א, מפקד מתחם ברעשית של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה, אשר הכווין והוציא לפועל מתווי ירי תמ"ס ונ"ט לעבר כוחות צה"ל ופיקד על פעילות הטרור של מחבלי חיזבאללה במרחב>> pic.twitter.com/sVaU4wiVpi

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) November 4, 2024

In recent weeks, the IDF has neutralized several military leaders and high-ranking Hezbollah officials, including Hassan Nasrallah, the group’s chief, on September 27 in a strike on Beirut.

The conflict that erupted in the Gaza Strip after October 7 has spread to Lebanon, where Israel has been carrying out extensive airstrikes against Hezbollah since September 23 and, from September 30 onward, has launched ground operations in southern Lebanon.

Israel states that its objective is to dismantle Hezbollah’s presence in southern Lebanon to allow the approximately 60,000 northern Israeli residents, who were forced to evacuate due to ongoing rocket attacks from Lebanon, to return to their homes.

Since September 23, at least 1,940 people have been killed in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally based on official sources.

Since October 7, at least 72 people have been killed by rockets in northern Israel, and since September 30, at least 38 Israeli soldiers have died in ground operations in Lebanon, also based on AFP figures.