Lebanese media reported late Thursday that five people were killed in an attack targeting a three-story house in southern Lebanon’s Safad El Battikh. Ali Jaafar Maatuk, a commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force, was killed in the attack, which according to the Saudi channel Al-Hadath targeted a house frequently used by Hezbollah operatives.
Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, reported 11 people were injured in the strike. Another seven people reportedly were injured in a separate attack on a house in the Jumeirah area. Shortly before the strike, the Hezbollah-owned Lebanese channel Al-Manar reported attacks in Mis Ej Jabal.
Maatuk, who was reportedly eliminated in the strike, had replaced Ali Ahmad Hussein in the Radwan Force. Hussein, a senior commander in the terror group’s elite force, was killed in an IDF attack in April and was responsible for planning and executing terror operations against Israel.
Hezbollah, for its part, claimed responsibility for nine launched toward Israel. One of them, according to Al-Manar, targeted an IDF base located about 15 km from the border, which has not yet been attacked in the current conflict.
The IDF Spokesperson’s Unit updated Thursday that a drone that infiltrated from Lebanon into Israel in the western Galilee was successfully intercepted. Additionally, the IDF confirmed that another drone was intercepted in the Golan Heights, where no sirens sounded. No casualties were reported in the incidents.
The IDF also said it eliminated a Hezbollah operative named Hassan Ali Mahana in southern Lebanon. The terrorist, according to the report, was involved in the terror group’s combat engineering unit and took part in planning and executing various terror activities against Israel. Hezbollah later officially announced his death, marking the 370th casualty reported by the Iran-backed group since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.
Meanwhile, U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby attempted to lower tensions, saying the U.S. is "not seeing signs of all-out war in northern Israel." According to him, "Iran continues its destabilizing activities, including its support for Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Hamas. We were concerned about escalation in the north, so we engaged in diplomatic dialogue to prevent it and will continue to work on it."