Hezbollah and foreign media reports claimed on Monday that the IDF killed Wissam al-Tawil, known as Jawad, a key operations commander in southern Lebanon, in an air strike in Khirbat Salem, Lebanon.
It was unclear if Jawad, a reportedly significant figure within Hezbollah, had been killed as part of ongoing exchanges of fire between the IDF and Hezbollah or whether he was specifically targeted.
If he was specifically targeted, the attack would seem to be part of a series of recent escalations.
From October 8 until early December, Hezbollah attacked Israel with rockets and anti-tank missiles, but only close to the northern border, to show solidarity with Hamas, and the IDF tended to respond proportionately.
In early December, the IDF ramped up its “responses” to start destroying much of Hezbollah’s forces or assets within firing range of the northern border.
Just six days after assassination of senior Hamas commander in Beirut
It would also mark the second major assassination on Lebanese soil in less than a week, following the killing of Hamas’s Deputy Chief of Staff Saleh al-Arouri, the senior Hamas official, in a strike in Beirut last Tuesday.
In response to that strike, Hezbollah fired dozens of rockets on Saturday and significantly damaged an important piece of the IDF’s air defense capabilities in the North.
If the IDF intentionally killed Jawad, it could be the latest response to that Hezbollah attack. Early reactions suggested Hezbollah itself could escalate even further.
Reuters contributed to this report.
