The commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front, overseeing the group’s military operations in southern Lebanon, was killed in an Israeli naval strike in Beirut on Tuesday, the Israeli army announced.

The strike claimed the life of Hajj Yusuf Ismail Hashem, who assumed leadership of the Southern Front in September 2024 following the death of Ali Karaki. Karaki was killed alongside Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah in a previous Israeli strike.

The Israeli army described Hashem as a “senior commander with more than 40 years of experience and a central figure within the terrorist organization.”

“For years, and especially in recent months, Hashem orchestrated and advanced thousands of planned attacks targeting Israeli civilians and army personnel,” the military statement said.

It added that “his elimination represents a major setback for Hezbollah’s operational capabilities against Israeli civilians and its coordination of combat in southern Lebanon.”