A senior Hezbollah commander, Salim Jamil Ayyash, was reportedly killed in an Israeli airstrike, according to Saudi media on Sunday. Unverified social media reports suggest that the strike took place near the Syrian city of al-Qusayr, a region known for its Hezbollah presence.
Ayyash was a key figure in Hezbollah’s Unit 151 assassination squad and had a $10 million bounty on his head from the United States. He was responsible for the 2005 suicide bombing that killed former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri in Beirut. In 2020, Ayyash was sentenced to life in prison by a UN-backed tribunal in absentia for his role in the assassination. Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, refused to hand over Ayyash, along with three other suspects, one of whom was acquitted.
In addition to his involvement in Hariri’s assassination, Ayyash faced charges for his role in three other deadly attacks on Lebanese politicians in 2004 and 2005. Israel has reportedly carried out hundreds of airstrikes in Syria since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, targeting Iranian-backed fighters, including Hezbollah operatives.
The recent airstrike comes amid a broader escalation of Israeli operations in Syria following the October 7 massacre by Hamas, which killed over 1,200 people in Israel. Israel has ramped up strikes on Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed groups, including a significant strike in September that killed Nasrallah and other senior Hezbollah commanders.
Hezbollah’s military activities along Israel’s northern border since October 2023 have led to casualties, with 40 Israeli civilians and 61 Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers killed. The Lebanese death toll has surpassed 3,000, with the IDF estimating that approximately 3,000 Hezbollah operatives have been killed in the ongoing conflict.