In the three months since the latest conflict between Israel and Hamas began, at least 79 journalists have been killed in Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said on Monday.
In a statement this afternoon, Hezbollah also acknowledged the death of Tawil, known as Hajj Jawad, in an Israeli attack.
Tawil is the most senior Hezbollah commander to be killed in an Israeli strike since the onset of daily crossfire between the Lebanon-based group and Israeli forces in October.
The organization published photographs of Tawil posing with top officials, including slain Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani as well as slain Hezbollah militant leaders Imad Mughniyyeh and Mustafa Badreddine, further indicating that he was a high-ranking Hezbollah commander.
On Saturday, Hezbollah launched a rocket barrage on an Israeli airbase in northern Israel, in an attack the group said was a “preliminary response” to the suspected Israeli attack that killed Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri in southern Beirut last week.
Israel and Hezbollah have since traded strikes over the past day, three months since hostilities broke out in October.
Overnight and into this morning, Israeli fighter jets, a helicopter and a drone struck southern Lebanon where Hezbollah operates.
Israeli fighter jets struck a Hezbollah military compound in the area of Marwahin and an Israeli helicopter targeted an area where an anti-tank missile launch was fired earlier. The IDF also said that an Israeli drone struck a launcher which was used to fire in Israeli territory.
Hezbollah-owned Al Manar said the group had been targeting Israeli forces on the border between Lebanon and Israel.
This morning Israeli air force struck “a series of Hezbollah terror targets in Lebanon, including military sites,” after an anti-tank missile was launched toward the city of Kiryat Shmona in northern Israel.
This is a developing story. More details to come
