(NewsSpace.com) – Ever since October 7, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, tensions in the Middle East have continued to escalate. The day after the militant group killed more than 1,200 innocent Israelis, Hezbollah, another Iranian-backed group, fired rockets and artillery into Shebaa Farms, a disputed territory that the militant group and Israel fought over from 2000 to 2006. Israel has launched a counteroffensive, and it recently announced it took out a Hezbollah official.
After a day of back-and-forth attacks between Israel and Hezbollah, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced they had killed one of the group’s commanders, Ali Hussein Burji. Hezbollah denied these claims, though it had announced Burji’s death earlier that day, without releasing any details as to what caused his death.
This was not the first high-level official of Hezbollah the Israeli military killed. On Monday, Wissam Hassan al-Tawil, a senior commander of the group’s Radwan unit, died. Israel Foreign Minister Israel Katz seemingly claimed responsibility for the death, saying “this is part of our war” and that Israel “strike[s] on Hezbollah’s people.” The most recent strike that killed Burji is reported to have taken place during al-Tawil’s funeral, which drew a large procession of mourners. The same day, additional Hezbollah members were killed in a strike on a vehicle in Ghandouriyeh.
Israeli forces have also taken aim at Hamas, with the intention of eradicating the militant group entirely. On January 2, they killed Hamas’ deputy leader, Saleh al-Arouri, in a strike that also killed six other people, including high-ranking officials in the group.
Israel isn’t seeking to eradicate Hezbollah like it is Hamas, but rather push the group’s elite Radwan unit away from the Israel border. The country’s leaders have said there are two ways to do that: diplomatically or militarily. With the way things are currently playing out, it’s more likely that it will be the latter method the Israeli government undertakes.
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