After months of Israeli strikes and assassinations targeting Hezbollah operatives, the group in recent days has publicly mourned two of its senior commanders killed in separate attacks.
The first, Abbas Hassan Karaki, was killed in a strike in Nabatieh in southern Lebanon last Friday. The Israeli military said it had assassinated Karaki, describing him as head of logistics for Hezbollah’s southern front. Hezbollah, in turn, hailed him as a “martyr commander.”
The second, Ali al-Moussawi, was killed on Sunday in a strike on the town of Nabi Sheet in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa region. Hezbollah announced his death, referring to him as “commander Dr. Ali al-Moussawi.”
The Israeli army said al-Moussawi had been “an arms dealer and weapons smuggler within Hezbollah’s ranks, involved in purchasing and transferring weapons from Syria to Lebanon, and a key figure in the group’s reconstruction and armament efforts.”
Since the November 2024 ceasefire, Hezbollah has not described any of those assassinated by Israel as senior commanders, despite repeated Israeli claims that its targets were in leadership roles.
The group has previously released the names and photos of 35 senior commanders killed by Israel during the war, in addition to former secretary-generals Hassan Nasrallah and Hashem Safieddine.
From Second to First Tier
According to Mohammad Chamseddine, a researcher with the Information International, Hezbollah lost 4,600 fighters during the war. Since the ceasefire, another 385 members have been assassinated.
Chamseddine told Asharq Al-Awsat that most of those killed since the ceasefire were regional officials, meaning mid-level or lower-ranking commanders. However, he noted that both Abbas Karaki and Ali al-Moussawi, assassinated last weekend, were first-tier figures.
He said most assassinations in the past ten months have taken place on roads, mainly across southern Lebanon.
Military and Security Cadres Targeted
Political analyst Ali al-Amin, a Hezbollah critic and editor-in-chief of the Janoubia website, said it has become clear that Israel’s assassinations are targeting Hezbollah cadres.
“There is now a firm belief among Hezbollah’s ranks and supporters that those not engaged in military or security duties are not under threat,” al-Amin told Asharq Al-Awsat. “Some even express confidence that since they hold no military or security responsibilities, they are safe.”
He added: “What’s new is that Israel appears to be escalating its operations, focusing on figures involved in security, military, or related functions. The two engineers killed two weeks ago near Nabatieh, for instance, point to a pattern in which Israel’s targets are individuals it claims are Hezbollah operatives.”
Al-Amin said Israel’s apparent aim is to dismantle Hezbollah’s remaining military and security infrastructure, noting that the group’s civil and economic institutions have not been targeted since hostilities ceased.
“Hezbollah’s lawmakers, for example, move around fairly freely in several areas,” he added. “This suggests that Israel’s focus remains on the group’s security and military personnel and those tied to its combat structure.”
A photograph circulated online showed a car engulfed in flames after being hit by an Israeli strike in Nabi Sheet on Sunday, which killed Hezbollah commander Ali al-Moussawi.
Strikes Focused on Three Areas
According to Israeli media reports, Israel’s strikes in Lebanon are now concentrated on three main areas.
The first is southern Lebanon’s border region, where Israel’s intensified attacks aim to “erode the infrastructure of the Radwan Force,” while also highlighting Hezbollah’s efforts to rebuild launch sites for rockets and mortars, gather intelligence, and fire anti-tank missiles near the frontier.
The second is the Nabatieh–Khirbet Selm–Kfar Dounine axis, which Israeli reports describe as home to Hezbollah’s command and control centers, separating operational and leadership levels.
The third area is the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, where strikes aim to “damage strategic infrastructure.” The region, according to Israeli assessments, serves as a logistical lifeline and storage hub for Iranian weapons, long-range missiles, and arms smuggled into Lebanon.
