Death of 'Former Bodyguard of Hassan Nasrallah' in Israeli Attack; Two Israeli Citizens Killed in Golan

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Lebanese Hezbollah group announced that at least two people were killed in the latest Israeli attack on Syria, one of whom was a senior member of this militia group. A source close to Hezbollah Lebanon also told AFP on Tuesday, July 9, that one of the dead was a former bodyguard of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah Lebanon. Hours later, Hezbollah announced that Yasser Nimer Qarnabesh was killed in this attack. Israeli emergency services reported that two people were seriously injured in Hezbollah's retaliatory attack on the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. In a statement, Israeli emergency services indicated that following the sound of sirens in the Golan Heights, paramedics reported the condition of two individuals as 'critical.' The Kan Israel television network then reported that these two citizens died due to the severity of their injuries. According to the report, a rocket fired from Lebanese territory hit the moving vehicle of this Israeli couple. Hezbollah stated that dozens of Katyusha rockets were fired at Golan on Tuesday. The Israeli army announced that 40 projectiles were fired from Lebanon towards these heights. Meanwhile, Al Arabiya network introduced Yasser Nimer Qarnabesh as a senior member of Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group. However, Reuters, citing two security sources, reported that Qarnabesh was a mid-level member of Hezbollah who played a role in 'weapon transfers' for the group. Since the start of the war in the Gaza Strip on October 6 last year, clashes between Israel and Hezbollah Lebanon along the borders of the two countries have continued almost uninterrupted, while Israeli airstrikes on the positions and forces of this group in both Lebanon and Syria have intensified. Sami Abdulrahman, the head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, commented on Tuesday's attack, stating: 'At least two people were killed and one injured in the Israeli drone strike on a Hezbollah vehicle.' A source close to Hezbollah Lebanon, who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP that one of the casualties of this attack was a former bodyguard of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of this group. Hezbollah Lebanon published images of Yasser Qarnabesh showing that he had been a bodyguard for Hassan Nasrallah in his youth. Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, Israel has carried out hundreds of attacks in this country, targeting positions and facilities of the Syrian army or Iran-backed forces, including Hezbollah Lebanon. Following the outbreak of war in the Gaza Strip, Israeli attacks on Hezbollah positions in Syrian territory have intensified, and according to AFP statistics, at least 25 members of this group have been killed in these attacks since then. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that last month, Israel targeted a convoy of fuel tankers that had entered Lebanon from Syrian territory. Hezbollah Lebanon announced that three of its militants were killed in this attack, and a source close to Hezbollah Lebanon stated that this attack occurred in the Hermel area, located in the Bekaa province in northeastern Lebanon. On Tuesday morning, the Syrian Ministry of Defense also announced that the Israeli airstrike on a location near the city of Baniyas, located on the Mediterranean coast, caused damage but no casualties. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights stated that Iranian military advisors are stationed in this area. The Israeli government and officials rarely comment on their attacks in Syria, but in recent years, they have repeatedly emphasized that they will not allow Iran to expand its military presence in Syria. It is estimated that over half a million people have been killed in the Syrian civil war, and millions have been displaced within the country or forced to migrate abroad. Hezbollah Lebanon has fought alongside the Syrian army since the beginning of the civil war, like other Iran-backed groups. Hassan Nasrallah is scheduled to speak on Wednesday at a memorial for one of Hezbollah Lebanon's commanders who was killed in an Israeli attack last week.