An Israeli drone strike killed a senior Hezbollah official on the outskirts of Tyre in southern Lebanon on Friday.
Ali Naeem served as the deputy commander of the terror group’s rockets and missiles unit, the IDF said. Naeem “was considered to be a significant source of knowledge in the terrorist organization, and was a leader in the field of rockets. He was also one of the leaders for heavy-warhead rocket fire and responsible for conducting and planning attacks against Israeli civilians,” the army added.
Rocket sirens sounded in the North shortly after the attack. Hezbollah claimed to have struck Israel’s Ramim ridge on Saturday morning after Lebanese media reported that the IDF carried out three strikes in the southern village of Taybeh on Friday.
Northern residents reported that a rocket fell in the border town of Margaliot later on Saturday, with no siren sounding prior. According to Walla, the locals observed a “louder explosion than usual.”
Lebanon’s National News Agency further reported that Israeli drones were observed flying over the Iqlim al-Tuffah and Nabatiya regions.
Ali was considered a significant fount of knowledge in the terror organization. He was a leader in his field and worked to plan and carry out launches towards Israel, the IDF said.
Rocket sirens sounded in northern Israel shortly after the reported attack.
דיווחים בלבנון: ישראל תקפה באמצעות מל"ט רכב בכפר אל-באזוריה שבאזור העיר צור@kaisos1987 @nurityohanan pic.twitter.com/e1NyvGKItb
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) March 29, 2024
Three United Nations observers and a translator were wounded on Saturday when a shell exploded near them as they were carrying out a foot patrol in southern Lebanon, UNIFIL said, adding it was still investigating the origin of the blast.
The IDF denied involvement in the incident. “Contrary to the reports, the IDF did not strike a UNIFIL vehicle in the area of Rmaich this morning,” the military said.
The UN peacekeeping mission known as UNIFIL, as well as unarmed technical observers known as UNTSO, are stationed in southern Lebanon to monitor hostilities along the demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel, known as the Blue Line.
UNFIL claims targeting peacekeepers "unacceptable"
UNIFIL said in a statement on Saturday that the targeting of peacekeepers is “unacceptable” and that the wounded staff had been evacuated for treatment.
Two security sources had earlier told Reuters the observers were wounded in an Israeli strike outside the border town of Rmaich. Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati spoke with UNIFIL commander Aroldo Lozaro, condemning the “targeting” and wounding of UN staff in southern Lebanon, according to a statement from Mikati’s office.
The mayor of Rmaich, Milad Alam, told Reuters that he had spoken with the Lebanese translator and confirmed his condition was stable.
“From Rmaich, we heard a blast and then saw a UNIFIL car zipping by. The foreign observers were taken to hospitals in Tyre and Beirut by helicopter and car,” Alam said, without providing details on their condition.
One of the observers was a Norwegian citizen, who was lightly wounded, the Nordic country’s Defense Ministry told Reuters. Lebanon’s National News Agency said the other two wounded observers were Chilean and Australian.
UNIFIL last month said that the IDF violated international law by firing on a group of clearly identifiable journalists, killing Reuters reporter Issam Abdallah.
The UN’s Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka said she was “saddened” to learn of the injuries and that the incident served as “another reminder of the urgent need to return to a cessation of hostilities across the Blue Line.”
The US and other countries have sought to secure a diplomatic resolution to the exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israel. Hezbollah said it will not halt fire before a ceasefire is implemented in Gaza.