Israel said it killed a prominent Hezbollah member on Monday evening, following strikes against weapons warehouse for the Iran-backed group deep inside Lebanon.
The Israeli government said in a post on X that its fighter jets struck Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in eastern Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. “Following the strikes, secondary explosions were identified, indicating the presence of large amounts of weapons in the facilities struck,” they said.
Israel added that its air force killed Hussein Ali Hussein in separate strikes in south Lebanon. The Israeli authorities identified him as "significant terrorist" in Hezbollah’s rocket and missile unit based in southern Lebanon, close to the Israeli border. Hussein was in the Deir Qanoun area of southern Lebanon at the time of the strike, the Israeli official readout said.
Hezbollah confirmed Hussein’s death later Monday evening, referring to him as Hussein Ali Hussein Suleiman, also known as Malak. The group said Hussein was born in 1988 in the village of Tarbikha, presently located in Israel just over the Lebanese border, and lived in Deir Qanoun. Hussein was “martyred on the way to Jerusalem,” Hezbollah said, according to its TV outlet, Al-Manar.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported that eight people were injured in the Israeli strike on the warehouse in Bekaa. Citing the Health Ministry, the agency said six Lebanese citizens, a 5-year-old Syrian girl and a 15-year-old Syrian girl were being treated in the hospital.
The outlet reported at around 8:50 p.m. local time (1:50 p.m. ET) that three Israeli raids occurred in the Baalbek district of Bekaa. The first occurred in Saraain El Tahta, the second outside of Nabi Chit and the third between Tamnine El Tahta and Qsarnaba, according to the agency.
Al-Manar reported Israeli raids in the same area, citing its correspondent.
Video on social media showed projectiles near the site of the explosion, with some claiming that an arms depot was hit.