Israel claims assassination of senior Hezbollah official in Beirut strike

2026-03-03 - 10:22

The Israeli military claimed Tuesday that it has assassinated a senior Hezbollah official in an airstrike targeting the Lebanese capital Beirut. A military statement identified the killed figure as Reda Khazai, asserting that he was responsible for Hezbollah's "military buildup" and coordination with Iran, as well as rebuilding the group's military capabilities following the 2024 Israeli war on Lebanon. Hezbollah has not yet commented on the Israeli claim. Deadly strikes continue Monday's airstrike on Beirut was part of a broader wave of Israeli attacks that killed at least 52 people and injured more than 150 others across Beirut's southern suburbs and southern Lebanon, according to Lebanese health officials. The Israeli army began a ground incursion into southern Lebanon early Tuesday, significantly escalating the conflict that has been intensifying since Monday when Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir announced an "offensive campaign" against Hezbollah expected to last several days. Escalation context The current escalation follows a Hezbollah attack on a military site in northern Israel, which the group stated was retaliation for ongoing Israeli strikes on Lebanon and in the context of the joint US-Israeli assault on Iran that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens of senior commanders over the weekend. The cross-border violence represents a dramatic deterioration of the cease-fire agreement signed between Israel and Hezbollah in November 2024, which Israel has repeatedly violated through near-daily strikes that have left hundreds dead and wounded. Broader conflict Israel's offensive against Lebanon began in October 2023 and escalated into full-scale war in September 2024, resulting in more than 4,000 deaths and approximately 17,000 wounded, according to Lebanese figures. The current round of hostilities threatens to surpass those grim totals as Israeli ground forces now operate inside Lebanese territory while airstrikes continue to pound both the capital and southern regions. With Hezbollah yet to confirm Khazai's death and likely to retaliate, the conflict shows no signs of de-escalating.