Israel’s military said it targeted two Hezbollah commanders in strikes in southern Lebanon on Saturday, in the deadliest attacks since a truce between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah went into effect in June. Lebanon’s Health Ministry and state news agency said at least 11 people were killed in two strikes – one on a home on the edge of Ansar village where seven people died, and another on the village of Deir al-Zahrani, where four were killed. Israel’s military said early on Sunday morning that the latter strike killed Abu Hassan Alaa, whom it described as a “senior commander” for Hezbollah who had taken part in attacks against Israel’s soldiers in southern Lebanon, as well as led fighters who targeted Israeli soldiers and civilians over several years. Earlier, Israel’s military had said the strike on Ansar killed Ali Samir Al-Haj Hassan, whom it described as a battalion commander with Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force unit. The military said Haj Hassan’s family was with him, but stressed that the family was not targeted. The United States has been mediating talks between Israel and the Lebanese government. On Saturday, Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam criticized Israel’s airstrikes. The office of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Hezbollah violated the ceasefire by attacking Israeli soldiers inside Lebanon, seriously wounding three. It added the military responded by striking the Hezbollah headquarters, which ordered the attack, learning only later that Hezbollah “deliberately put civilians” in that military compound.
