Israeli Strikes in Lebanon Kill 3 Including Hezbollah Commander, Sources Say

 Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese village of Majdel Zoun, on April 15, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (AFP)
Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese village of Majdel Zoun, on April 15, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (AFP)
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Israeli Strikes in Lebanon Kill 3 Including Hezbollah Commander, Sources Say

 Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese village of Majdel Zoun, on April 15, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (AFP)
Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese village of Majdel Zoun, on April 15, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border tensions as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. (AFP)

Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on Tuesday killed three people including a Hezbollah field commander, Lebanese security sources said, an uptick in violence after at least a week of relative calm in more than half a year of hostilities.

The Israeli military said Ismail Baz, killed in a strike on a car near the southern town of Ain Ebel, was the commander of Hezbollah's coastal sector and was involved in planning rocket and anti-tank missile attacks on Israel.

Hezbollah issued a statement mourning Baz's death but did not elaborate on his role in the organization.

Separate Israeli strikes on two vehicles near the southern town of Chehabiyeh killed at least two Hezbollah members, a security source and a civil defense official said.

Hezbollah and Israel have traded fire in parallel to the Gaza war in the most serious hostilities since they fought a major war in 2006.

The fighting has claimed the lives of at least 370 Lebanese, including more than 240 Hezbollah fighters and 68 civilians, according to a Reuters toll and has fueled concern about the potential for further escalation between regional enemies.

Eighteen Israelis, including soldiers and civilians, have been killed.

Those concerns have mounted following Iran's unprecedented attack on Israel with hundreds of explosive drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles launched on Saturday night to which Israeli officials have vowed to respond.

Iran called the barrage retaliation for an Israeli strike that flattened a building in its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1 and killed two of its generals and several other officers.



‘No One Dares’ … First Palestinian Response to Israeli Plan to Separate Hebron from PA

Israeli security forces stand guard as Israeli settlers tour in the Palestinian side of the old city and market of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 5, 2025. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)
Israeli security forces stand guard as Israeli settlers tour in the Palestinian side of the old city and market of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 5, 2025. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)
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‘No One Dares’ … First Palestinian Response to Israeli Plan to Separate Hebron from PA

Israeli security forces stand guard as Israeli settlers tour in the Palestinian side of the old city and market of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 5, 2025. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)
Israeli security forces stand guard as Israeli settlers tour in the Palestinian side of the old city and market of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on July 5, 2025. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP)

A report published by The Wall Street Journal, and promoted by Israeli media on Sunday, has renewed focus on an Israeli plan dating back more than 60 years aimed at pushing for the creation of “emirates” or entities independent from the Palestinian Authority (PA).

The report focused on the Palestinian city of Hebron, and cited what it claimed were “21 tribal elders from Hebron,” who allegedly sent a letter in Hebrew to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling for negotiations with them to join the Abraham Accords and consequently abandon the “two-state solution,” which Palestinians rely on to establish their state.

However, a Palestinian security source, in remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, said: “What is happening is yet another Israeli attempt to weaken the Palestinian Authority.”

“This is a failed plan,” he said: “No one here would dare take this step and say: I am the spy... I am the alternative to the Authority ... Those who tried that are known and represent no one.”

Reportedly, the elders included a detailed proposed timetable for talks to join the Abraham Accords and for “a fair and decent arrangement that would replace the Oslo Accords, which only brought damage, death, economic disaster and destruction.”

According to The Wall Street Journal, the initiative was helmed by Wadee al-Jaabari, who local city residents and its political leadership claim is unknown to them, and backed by "four other leading Hebron sheikhs.”

Palestinian city residents, including Jaabari's extended family members, condemned the proposal, saying that its authors do not represent them.

Israeli sources said that Economy Minister Nir Barkat stands behind the letter, which was allegedly sent to him. Barkat met at his home with al-Jaabari and the other sheikhs; he has held more than 12 meetings with them since February, The Wall Street Journal said. They asked him to forward the letter to Netanyahu and are now waiting for his response.

The sheikhs reportedly proposed that Israel grant work permits to 1,000 workers from Hebron on a trial basis, and then extend this to another 5,000.

According to Maariv newspaper, the Israeli government is “seeking to promote this plan to destroy the Palestinian Authority and the establishment of a Palestinian state.”