Israeli Airstrike Kills Senior Hezbollah Radwan Commander In Beirut Amid Ceasefire Tensions

An Israeli airstrike in Beirut killed a senior Hezbollah commander in the group’s elite Radwan force on Wednesday (6 May), according to a joint statement confirming the strike by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz.

“Beirut, Lebanon – Israel’s attacks on Lebanon and pressure on the Lebanese government to disarm the pro-Iran Shia movement Hezbollah by force are stoking internal tensions, analysts have told Al Jazeera”

Al Jazeera

AnewZ said the killing underscored tensions despite a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, noting that hostilities continued intermittently after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire announced on 16 April.

Al Jazeera

AnewZ also reported that Israel said Hezbollah launched several rockets towards Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, prompting retaliatory strikes on multiple Hezbollah-linked positions, including weapons depots.

In parallel, The Hindu said a deadly strike in south Lebanon killed at least five people as Israel-Hezbollah tensions escalated, with continued exchanges of fire and strikes reported in Beirut and beyond.

AnewZ quoted Liberum editor-in-chief Arthur Blok saying the ceasefire is “in name only,” arguing Hezbollah has limited incentive to commit to a lasting agreement while maintaining its armed role.

Blok told AnewZ, “Hezbollah actually resists a ceasefire because its raison d’être is fighting,” framing the group’s armed role as central to its political identity.

Al-Jazeera Net

Haaretz reported that diplomatic talks between Israel and Lebanon are expected to resume next week in Washington, with Israeli sources saying the White House is trying to set up a meeting between Israel's ambassador to the U.S., Yechiel Leiter, and his Lebanese counterpart, Nada Hamadeh Moawad.

Separately, Anadolu Ajansı said the Israeli army carried out more than 100 attacks on Lebanon on Thursday, resulting in at least 18 dead and 39 injured, while Hezbollah carried out eight drone- and artillery attacks against Israeli targets in southern Lebanon.

Anadolu Ajansı said that on April 17, a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah began and was extended to May 17, but that Tel Aviv continues to breach it daily with shelling that leaves dead and wounded and wide-scale bombings of homes in dozens of villages in southern Lebanon.

Anadolu also reported that Israel’s war since March 2 has left 2,727 dead and 8,438 wounded, and more than 1.6 million displaced, described as a fifth of the population, according to the latest official data.

Al Jazeera said analysts told the outlet that Israel’s pressure on the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah by force is stoking internal tensions, with Michael Young of the Carnegie Middle East Center warning that Israel is trying to create sectarian tensions and “put more pressure on the Lebanese state.”

In the same Al Jazeera report, Young said, “The Israelis are trying to put pressure on the Lebanese state,” as Lebanon agreed to direct negotiations with Israel in attempts to end the war and occupation of southern Lebanon while Hezbollah and its supporters oppose direct negotiations.