Hezbollah communications chief killed – IDF

Mohammad Rashid Sakafi was killed in an airstrike in Beirut on Thursday, the Israel military has said

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has announced the death of senior Hezbollah member Mohammad Rashid Sakafi in an airstrike in Lebanon. 

Sakafi was killed in a “precise, intelligence-based strike in Beirut yesterday,” the IDF said on X on Friday. 

It described Sakafi as “a senior Hezbollah terrorist” who was the group’s chief of communications since 2000.

“Sakafi invested significant efforts to develop communication capabilities between all of Hezbollah’s units,” the Israeli army said. Hezbollah has not commented on these claims.

The IDF has assassinated several high-ranking Hezbollah members in recent months, including the pro-Palestinian armed group’s longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed on September 27. 

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said during a visit to the 36th Division’s headquarters in northern Israel on Friday that the army had “more surprises in store” for Hezbollah.

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Israel intensified its airstrikes in Lebanon in late September and has launched cross-border raids in response to frequent rocket attacks from Hezbollah. More than 2,000 people have since been killed during the bombing campaign in Lebanon and over 1.2 million were displaced, according to the Lebanese health authorities. 

Around 70,000 Israelis were earlier forced to flee the northern part of the country due to Hezbollah attacks. The IDF has said that the ongoing operation is aimed at pushing the militants from the border and making the area safe for the return of the refugees. Hezbollah, however, vowed to continue firing rockets at Israel until the IDF ends its war with Hamas in Gaza.