Several Hezbollah commanders killed in Lebanon strikes, claims Israel

Beirut, Sep 28 (IANS) The Israeli military has said it had killed Hezbollah commanders during the air strikes in Lebanon, officials said.

"The IAF (Israeli Air Force) struck and eliminated the terrorist Muhammad Ali Ismail, the commander of Hezbollah's missile unit in southern Lebanon, and his deputy, the terrorist Hussein Ahmad Ismail," the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in the early hours of Saturday.

"Additional Hezbollah commanders and operatives were eliminated alongside them," the IDF added.

The IDF said that Muhammad Ali Ismail was responsible for directing attacks against Israel, including the launch of a surface-to-air missile on Wednesday.

The IDF said in a statement that Ismail was "responsible for many acts of terrorism... including rocket launches towards the territory of the State of Israel and the launch of a surface-to-surface missile towards the centre of the country last Wednesday".

The Israeli military said it also killed Ibrahim Muhammad Kabisi and "other senior officials in Hezbollah's missile and rocket array".

Hezbollah has not confirmed or denied Israel's announcement about the commanders.

Israeli strikes hit Lebanon throughout Friday, including in the southern suburbs of Beirut, where the IDF said it was conducting "targeted strikes" on Hezbollah weapons stored beneath civilian buildings.

Hezbollah has also denied that its weapons were being stored in civilian buildings targeted by Israeli strikes on the Dahiyeh area of southern Beirut on Friday.

"The claims made by the enemy regarding the presence of weapons in the bombed civilian buildings are completely false," Hezbollah said in its first official comments on the airstrikes.

Explosions continue to rock the Lebanese capital early Saturday morning local time.

The IDF previously said it was "conducting targeted strikes on weapons belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organisation that were stored beneath civilian buildings," and had told residents to evacuate certain areas.

The latest strikes come hours after an initial Israeli attack on what it said was Hezbollah's headquarters in Beirut on Friday. That operation flattened several buildings in a densely populated area, killing at least six people and wounding dozens of others, according to Lebanon's Health Ministry. Rescuers are still searching for survivors and any further victims, warning the current death toll is not final.

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