An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon on Wednesday killed a senior Hezbollah commander as tensions between the two sides continue to boil, a Hezbollah official told The Associated Press.
The strike near the southern coastal city of Tyre took place as global diplomatic efforts have intensified in recent weeks to prevent escalating clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli military from spiralling into an all-out war that could possibly lead to a direct confrontation between Israel and Iran.
A Hezbollah statement identified the killed commander as Mohammad Naameh Nasser, who went by the name "Abu Naameh," his nom de guerre. A Hezbollah official speaking anonymously in line with regulations, said he was head of the group's Aziz Unit, one of three regional divisions in southern Lebanon.
Nasser is the most senior official from the Iran-backed group killed since Taleb Sami Abdullah, who was killed in an airstrike June 11. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in a speech honoring Abdullah said he played a pivotal role on the front line since clashes began on Oct. 8 leading the Nasr Unit.
Hezbollah said in response to the killing of Nasser, it launched Falaq rockets with heavy warheads targeting the headquarters of the Israeli military's 769th Brigade in Kiryat Shmona, as well as 100 salvos of Katyusha rockets targeting the headquarters of Israel's 210th division and the Kilaa air base in the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
The group also shared footage of Nasser taking part in what they said was an operation at an Israeli military outpost in southern Lebanon in 1999 back when it was under occupation.
In a video circulated by local media, residents rushed toward a charred vehicle with a large plume of smoke. Civil Defence said its first responders transported an unnamed wounded person to a hospital.
The Israeli military acknowledged the attack, saying that Nasser alongside Abdullah are "two of the most significant Hezbollah" militants in southern Lebanon. It said Nasser led attacks from southwestern Lebanon.
Hezbollah launched rockets on northern Israel a day after a Hamas surprise attack on southern Israel in October, leading to limited clashes along the tense border. The attacks have since gradually escalated, with Hezbollah introducing new weapons in their attacks and Israel striking deeper into Lebanon.
The group maintains that it will stop its attacks once there is a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. Until then, it says it will continue with its attacks to pile pressure on Israel and the international community. Israeli officials have threatened to launch a larger military operation should Hezbollah not stop its attacks.
Hezbollah deputy leader Sheikh Naim Kassem told The Associated Press in an interview Monday that Israel cannot expect the group's attacks to remain limited should it launch a military operation within Lebanon, even if it aims to keep the conflict below the threshold of all-out war. Allies, including thousands of Iran-backed militiamen in Iraq, have offered to join Hezbollah on the front lines.
Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon since October have killed over 450 people, most of them Hezbollah fighters, but the dead also include more than 80 civilians and non-combatants. On the Israeli side, 16 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed since the war in Gaza began. Tens of thousands of people on both sides of the tense frontier have been displaced in the monthslong war.
Senior adviser to U.S. President Joe Biden, Amos Hochstein, who has been shuttling between Lebanon and Israel, is set to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron's Lebanon envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian in Paris on Wednesday as part of his ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
French officials had invited Hochstein to the French capital to discuss the latest developments in their ongoing diplomatic scrambles, according to administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
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Associated Press writers Abby Sewell in Beirut and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to this report.
Hurricane Beryl ripped off roofs in Jamaica, jumbled fishing boats in Barbados and damaged or destroyed 95 per cent of homes on a pair of islands in St. Vincent and the Grenadines before rumbling toward the Cayman Islands and taking aim at Mexico's Caribbean coast after leaving at least seven dead in its wake.
A B.C. judge has ordered the sale of a Surrey home despite the objections of the woman who lives there, who owns it jointly with her son.
A landlord in Ottawa is facing thousands of dollars in repairs after his tenant left his only rental property damaged and disorderly.
The next quarterly GST/HST tax credit payment is expected to go out this week, according to the Canada Revenue Agency.
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Ottawa city councillor Clarke Kelly says he is not apologizing after a Kinburn daycare owner alleged he screamed and swore in front of children during a dispute that saw police called to the scene on Wednesday afternoon.
A Calgary man is $66 million richer after claiming a Lotto 6-49 jackpot.
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Waterloo, Ont., regional police have arrested a man in connection to a Canada Day firework incident involving a city councillor.
Anthony Olienick made death arrangements before heading to the COVID-19 protest blockade at Coutts, Alta., preparing for a noble, bloody, apocalyptic last stand against a satanic system of government, court heard Wednesday.
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he suspect in the attempted assassination in May of Slovakia's populist prime minister, Robert Fico, is now facing terror charges as part of an investigation by authorities, the country鈥檚 prosecutor-general said Thursday.
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The parliamentary budget officer estimates that staffing up the new regulators in the Liberals' Online Harms Act will cost around $200 million over five years.
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Former Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter will be charged with a federal felony connected to the sports betting scandal that spurred the NBA to ban him for life, court papers indicate.
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Assiniboine Park officials are reminding the public to be vigilant around coyotes, amid reports the canines have been getting a bit too comfortable interacting with the public.
School divisions across Saskatchewan are making it known that fiscal challenges remain, despite the province's attempts at addressing capacity issues in its most recent budget.
A Regina couple who were paid $800 in compensation from Sunwing Airlines are now being taken back to court as the airline seeks to overturn the decision.
Regina police have identified 29-year-old Skylar Ochuschayoo as a suspect in the city's third homicide of the year.
Mark McCreadie鈥檚 family fears his admitted killer will harm someone else if he鈥檚 ever released from prison.
Waterloo, Ont., regional police have arrested a man in connection to a Canada Day firework incident involving a city councillor.
OpenText Corp.'s chief executive says the company plans to shed about 1,200 roles as part of a business optimization plan.
Shoppers who frequent Co-op stores in Saskatoon and the area may have to shop around to get what they need because of limited supply due to a cyberattack.
Traffic restrictions are in place for Northbound traffic exiting from Highway 16 onto Circle Drive East due to a single-vehicle collision involving a school bus.
The mother of a Saskatoon homicide victim says getting justice in her daughter鈥檚 killing has been painful.
A 33-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder after a victim was attacked with a blunt object Wednesday evening in downtown Sudbury.
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A youth has been charged with first degree murder after emergency services responded to a Cut Line Road address between Parr Line and Tipperary Line in Central Huron, where another youth was found, taken to hospital, and later pronounced deceased.
The province's Special Investigations Unit is investigating a fatal crash in Springwater Township.
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Police arrested and charged two individuals for allegedly stealing over $5,000 worth of furniture from an Airbnb.
The former Sears building in Devonshire Mall is set to be torn down later this month.
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Ontarians could see long lineups at LCBO stores across the province today as customers prepare for a possible strike that will close all LCBO locations for the next two weeks.
BC Ferries is warning travellers between Vancouver Island and the B.C. mainland to expect major delays after mechanical problems forced the cancellation of at least two sailings Thursday morning.
A brand of instant noodles sold in B.C., Alberta and Ontario has been recalled due to undeclared peanut in the ingredients 鈥 posing a potential allergy risk to consumers.
Chef Gus Stieffenhofer-Brandson says that when it comes to a fat B.C. peach, there are "endless possibilities" for a fruit that signifies summer.
British Columbia residents are being told to brace for a coming heat wave that could send temperatures into the high 30s and beyond, with the government reminding people to check in on their neighbours.
A swath of B.C.鈥檚 southern Interior is being told to brace for potential severe thunderstorms Tuesday.
A severe thunderstorm watch is in effect Sunday for a swath of the B.C. Interior, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada.
One of two men accused of conspiring to kill Mounties at the border blockade at Coutts, Alta., characterized the protest as a last stand and told his mother there 鈥渨ill be a war鈥 if police moved in.
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Plenty of tourists will descend on Lethbridge to see what the city offers. Locals, too, will have no shortage of activities this weekend.
Sault Ste. Marie native and four-time Stanley Cup champion Marty Pavelich has died.
Police and city officials say a Pride display in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., was vandalized.
A federal court hearing Wednesday saw lawyers for Elliot Lake homeowners and the Attorney General of Canada argue over the definition of nuclear mine waste.
There was relief in central Labrador Wednesday night as officials lifted a wildfire evacuation order, allowing people to return to their homes in Churchill Falls two weeks after they were asked to flee.
The union representing inshore fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador is calling on the federal government to reverse its recent decision to reopen the commercial Northern cod fishery.
As part of the emotional ceremony honouring Newfoundland and Labrador's Unknown Soldier, the province's national anthem, The Ode to Newfoundland, was sung. Military members received special permission from defence officials to salute the Ode.
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