The Israeli occupation army announced on Thursday morning that it had carried out an assassination strike in southern Lebanon, killing Yassin Izzuddin, a senior Hezbollah commander responsible for artillery operations in the Litani sector.

According to the Israeli military, the strike occurred near the town of Barish in the Tyre district and targeted Izzuddin for his role in directing artillery fire toward northern occupied territories during the ongoing confrontation. The Israeli army further claimed that Izzuddin had been instrumental in revitalizing Hezbollah’s artillery capabilities in the southern front.

The targeted killing marks a continued escalation in Israel’s cross-border campaign against Lebanese resistance forces, as the Israeli military intensifies its operations amid its wider regional conflict, which includes a deadly war on Gaza and rising hostilities with Iran and allied resistance movements.

Hezbollah has not officially confirmed the assassination at the time of reporting.

Last Friday, Hezbollah had strongly condemned the Israeli regime's missile strikes on the Islamic Republic of Iran, describing them as a blatant act of aggression and a dangerous provocation.

“The Zionist enemy has crossed all red lines,” the Lebanese resistance group stated, warning of the risks of regional escalation.

Despite the heightened rhetoric, Hezbollah refrained from issuing any direct military threat in response to the strikes on Iran. However, observers note that the Resistance’s silence may reflect strategic calculation rather than inaction, amid a rapidly shifting battlefield dynamic.

Israel’s targeted assassination campaign has continued to draw condemnation from human rights advocates, who warn that such extrajudicial killings pose a serious threat to regional stability and international law.

As tensions grow along the Lebanon-Palestine border, Thursday's strike may provoke further military responses from Hezbollah, which has repeatedly declared its commitment to defending Lebanon against Israeli aggression and supporting resistance movements across the region. (ILKHA)