Israeli Strike in Syria Kills Former Bodyguard of Lebanon’s Hezbollah Leader

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, right, gives an address while accompanied by his bodyguard Yasser Nemr Qranbish, during a rally to mark the sixth anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon after an 18-year occupation, in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, on May 25, 2006. (AP)
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, right, gives an address while accompanied by his bodyguard Yasser Nemr Qranbish, during a rally to mark the sixth anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon after an 18-year occupation, in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, on May 25, 2006. (AP)
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Israeli Strike in Syria Kills Former Bodyguard of Lebanon’s Hezbollah Leader

Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, right, gives an address while accompanied by his bodyguard Yasser Nemr Qranbish, during a rally to mark the sixth anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon after an 18-year occupation, in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, on May 25, 2006. (AP)
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, right, gives an address while accompanied by his bodyguard Yasser Nemr Qranbish, during a rally to mark the sixth anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon after an 18-year occupation, in the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, on May 25, 2006. (AP)

An Israeli strike in Syria on Tuesday killed a former bodyguard of the leader of the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, an official with the group said. An Israeli man and woman were killed in a retaliatory Hezbollah strike on Israel.

Hours earlier, an Israeli drone hit a car in Syria near the border with Lebanon, according to a war monitor and the Syrian pro-government radio Sham FM. The Hezbollah official spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

The Britain-based pro-opposition war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said two Hezbollah members in the car were killed in the strike, while a Syrian driver was critically wounded. There was no immediate comment from Syrian authorities or from the Israeli military.

Hezbollah later identified the militant as Yasser Nemr Qranbish, although it did not disclose the circumstances of his death as is standard practice for Hezbollah combatants who are not in leadership roles.

Hezbollah supporters mourned his death on social media, calling him the “shield” of Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Later Tuesday, Hezbollah announced that in retaliation for the killing, it fired tens of Katyusha rockets targeting an Israeli military base in the Golan Heights. Israeli police said in a statement that a man and a woman were killed in the rocket barrage. The MADA rescue service said they were civilians.

Qranbish had been mainly active in Syria over the recent years and involved in weapons shipments for Hezbollah, said an official with an Iran-backed group, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose the information.

Hezbollah launched attacks against Israel after the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza on Oct. 7 with the attack on southern Israel by the Palestinian armed group Hamas that rules the Gaza Strip. Hamas is an ally of Hezbollah.

Since then, Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon have killed over 450 people, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also more than 80 civilians and non-combatants. On the Israeli side, 17 soldiers and 13 civilians have been killed since the war in Gaza began.

Tens of thousands of people on both sides of the tense Lebanon-Israel frontier have been displaced in the monthslong war.

For years, Israel has launched frequent strikes on targets in Syria linked to Iran, its powerful regional backer, but rarely acknowledges them. The strikes have escalated over the past five months against the backdrop of the war in Gaza and ongoing clashes between Hezbollah and Israeli forces on the Lebanon-Israel border.

Hezbollah's attacks have gradually escalated, with the group introducing new weapons. Hezbollah maintains it will stop its attacks once there is a ceasefire in Gaza. Israel has also struck deeper into Lebanon.

The targeting of Qranbish appears to be part of an ongoing Israeli military strategy of taking out key Hezbollah operatives aimed at weakening its military capabilities “before any major escalation that might" follow, said Charles Lister of the Washington-based Middle East Institute think tank.

“That it occurred in Syria will serve as another potent reminder of Israel’s clear penetration of the ‘resistance axis’ there,” Lister told The Associated Press, referring to the regional network of Iran-backed groups.

Also Tuesday, Hezbollah released drone footage over the Israeli-annexed Golan, identifying Israeli military bases and strategic areas.

Soon after, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz in a post on X, formerly Twitter, said Hezbollah's Nasrallah would be “considered the destroyer of Lebanon” if the Iran-backed group does not end its threats and attacks and withdraws from southern Lebanon.



Israel Committing Increasing Violations in South Lebanon, the Bekaa

President Joseph Aoun meets with US Central Command Commander General Kurilla on Monday. (EPA)
President Joseph Aoun meets with US Central Command Commander General Kurilla on Monday. (EPA)
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Israel Committing Increasing Violations in South Lebanon, the Bekaa

President Joseph Aoun meets with US Central Command Commander General Kurilla on Monday. (EPA)
President Joseph Aoun meets with US Central Command Commander General Kurilla on Monday. (EPA)

The Israeli military has intensified its attacks on Lebanon - despite the ceasefire – expanding its operations beyond the Litani River to the Iqlim al-Tuffah region in the south and reaching the Bekaa Valley and the eastern border with Syria.

Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with a high-ranking US military delegation to discuss Israel’s repeated violations of Lebanese sovereignty and the need to implement UN Resolution 1701.

The US delegation, led by General Michael Kurilla, commander of US Central Command, also included Jasper Jeffers, head of the technical ceasefire monitoring committee, other senior officers, and US Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa Johnson.

Discussions addressed the security situation in South Lebanon and the progress of Israel’s withdrawal according to the agreed-upon timeline. A statement from the presidential palace noted that the talks covered the implementation of Resolution 1701, the coordination between the Lebanese army, international forces, and the ceasefire monitoring committee.

Aoun commended the cooperation between the Lebanese and US militaries, highlighting the US role in supporting Lebanon’s stability and development.

Later, the US delegation was joined by General Aroldo Lazaro, commander of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), French General Guillaume Ponchin, deputy chair of the ceasefire monitoring committee, and Acting Lebanese Army Commander Major General Hassan Odeh, who attended with a delegation of Lebanese military officers.

In the South, Israeli warplanes targeted areas between the southern towns of Arabsalim, Humin al-Fawqa, and Deir al-Zahrani. More strikes targeted the outskirts of Janta in the Baalbek district near the eastern mountain range, as well as border crossings between Lebanon and Syria in the areas of Qasir and Hermel. Israeli reconnaissance aircraft also flew at low altitudes over Tyre and its surrounding villages.

On the ground, Lebanon's National News Agency (NNA) reported that an Israeli force, supported by tanks and armored vehicles, conducted sweeps in the Mufilaha and Ras al-Zuhr areas west of Mais al-Jabal.

The set fire to homes in Mufilaha and detonated 15 explosive devices. The Israeli military also carried out an explosion in Aita al-Shaab and fired heavy machine guns from their position in the Metula settlement toward the Khiyam plains.

In Mais al-Jabal, Israeli forces conducted extensive sweeps with automatic weapons, and a powerful explosion was reported in the town. The Lebanese army, which had planned to enter the town on Monday, consequently postponed its deployment.

The escalating Israeli violations have raised concerns that Israel may delay its withdrawal from occupied areas in southern Lebanon beyond the Blue Line within the ceasefire deadline.

Retired Brigadier General Saeed Qazah told Asharq Al-Awsat that Israel currently has freedom of movement during the 60-day period without requiring the monitoring committee’s approval.

Referring to recent strikes in Janta and Humin, he explained that Israel had informed the Lebanese army about suspected Hezbollah movements and, upon receiving no response, carried out the attacks. He added that the US had assured Israel during ceasefire negotiations that it could conduct strikes anywhere in Lebanon if Hezbollah’s activities were deemed a threat.

Despite the violations, the Israeli army is expected to withdraw from areas south of the Litani River by January 27.

However, Qazah emphasized that this withdrawal is contingent upon Hezbollah surrendering its weapons and positions to the Lebanese army and relocating its fighters north of the Litani. He warned that if Hezbollah adopts the same approach it did in 2006, Israel may refuse to withdraw, citing concerns over its security.