Hezbollah Spokesman Killed in Israeli Airstrike in Beirut

Mohammad Afif, the spokesman for the Lebanese Hezbollah group, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a building in Beirut. Both Hezbollah and the Israeli army confirmed the death of Mohammad Afif on Sunday, November 18. According to a statement from the Israeli army, Mohammad Afif 'was directly involved in advancing and executing terrorist activities against Israel' and was 'the main propagandist and spokesman for Hezbollah.' Hezbollah, the Iran-backed group, also confirmed the death of its spokesman without providing details. It was previously reported that this Hezbollah official was killed during the early morning airstrike on Sunday on a building in Beirut. This building was located in the densely populated Ras al-Nabaa area of Beirut, where refugees from southern Beirut have sought shelter. According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, a total of four people were killed and 14 injured in the Israeli airstrike on this building. Israeli Defense Minister: There is no ceasefire in the war with Hezbollah. Mohammad Afif had been in the spotlight for the past two months following the outbreak of full-scale war between Israel and Hezbollah, especially after the death of Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, in Israeli airstrikes. Last month, he abruptly ended a press conference in Beirut due to imminent Israeli attacks. Security sources reported that the attack targeted a building housing Ba'ath Party offices. Ali Hajazi, the head of this party in Lebanon, told the Al-Jadeed television network that Mohammad Afif was present in the building at the time of the attack. The sound of ambulances heading to the scene could be heard, and gunfire was heard to prevent people from approaching the attack site. The Israeli attack on southern Beirut came after Hezbollah's missile attacks on Haifa. On Sunday, November 18, Israel targeted southern Beirut with attacks. The Israeli army stated that on this day, it targeted Hezbollah positions in the area. This attack occurred just hours after the Iran-backed group announced that it had targeted Israeli bases around the city of Haifa. Television images showed a column of smoke rising over southern areas of the Lebanese capital. The Israeli army had previously warned residents of three areas to evacuate. In a further southern area, Israeli nighttime airstrikes and artillery shelling targeted the sensitive city of Khiyam, about six kilometers from the border. The National News Agency of Lebanon reported this news on Sunday morning. This bombardment occurred after the Israeli army reported a 'heavy missile attack' on Haifa late on Saturday, stating that a synagogue was hit and two civilians were injured. Israel has intensified its attacks on Lebanon since September 23 and has deployed ground forces. This comes after nearly a year of limited fire exchanges between border forces, initiated by Hezbollah militants backed by Iran in support of the extremist group Hamas in Gaza. In Gaza, where the Hamas group's attack on Israel triggered the war, the Gaza Civil Defense Organization, affiliated with Hamas, reported that 24 people were killed in Saturday's attacks. Hamas is recognized as a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union. Israeli forces advance in southern Lebanon. At the start of the eighth week of the Israeli army's ground operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israeli forces reached the deepest point in Lebanese territory on Saturday, November 26. The Lebanese state news agency reported that Israeli soldiers captured a strategic hill in the village of Chama, about 5 kilometers from the border. This report mentioned the explosion of several houses in this village, but its claim regarding the explosion of the shrine of Shimon the Prophet was not confirmed. The Israeli army stated that 'limited and local operations' of its forces in southern Lebanon continue. At the same time, on Sunday, November 27, the Israeli army ordered residents of three specific areas in the city of Dahieh next to Beirut to evacuate, announcing that it would 'soon' operate in these areas. Dahieh has been the main headquarters of Hezbollah and its forces for decades. Israeli fighter jets also bombed Dahieh and points in the port city of Tyre on Saturday. The Lebanese state news agency reported the deaths of six members of a family in the village of 'Kharabiyeh' northeast of Tyre. The Israeli army stated that it targeted Hezbollah facilities in the attacks on Saturday. Lebanon is 'considering the US-proposed plan for a 60-day ceasefire with Israel.' Israeli airstrikes on Dahieh intensified after Hezbollah's 'heavy rocket barrage' on this day, which targeted a synagogue in Haifa, the largest city in northern Israel, injuring two civilians. Hezbollah stated that it targeted 'military centers' in Haifa and its suburbs. On Saturday, more than 80 rockets were fired towards Haifa and surrounding cities, which was about half the number of daily rocket attacks by this Iranian proxy group against Israel two weeks prior. Herzi Halevi, the Chief of Staff of the Israeli army, during an unprecedented visit to his forces in 'Kafr Kila' in southern Lebanon, stated that his country has already taken a 'heavy toll' from Hezbollah, but operations will continue until people return to their homes in northern Israel. According to footage released by the army on Saturday, General Halevi said in 'Kafr Kila' that Hezbollah's command chain has collapsed, many elements in the group's core structure have been eliminated, and its infrastructure has suffered severe blows. The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that the death toll in the country since the beginning of Hezbollah's attacks on Israel on October 8 of last year has exceeded 3,400, with 80 percent of those casualties occurring in the past eight weeks. The Lebanese government's statistics do not separate militants from civilians, but Israel had estimated until last week that 'at least 2,500' of the dead in Lebanon were Hezbollah militants. Hezbollah-affiliated groups reported the group's death toll at about 1,600 until the beginning of the week. Hezbollah has stopped updating its official casualty figures since September 27 when Israel initiated operations to detonate the group's pagers. Political peace efforts in Lebanon continue amid the Israeli army's ground operations in Lebanon and ongoing rocket and drone attacks by Hezbollah on northern Israel. According to Kan, the Israeli national media network, Amos Hochstein, the Biden administration's special representative for Israel-Lebanon negotiations, will travel to Israel again this week. The US ambassador to Lebanon has stated that the country has presented a draft ceasefire plan to the Lebanese government. This is the first time since the beginning of Hezbollah's attacks on Israel over 13 months ago that the group is willing to negotiate a ceasefire in Lebanon without stipulating the end of the Israeli army's operations against the extremist Hamas group in Gaza. Nabih Berri, the Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, is involved in these negotiations on behalf of Hezbollah. Ali Larijani, an advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, who met with Nabih Berri in Beirut on Friday, stated that Iran will accept any decision made by Hezbollah. He added that Iran is not seeking to 'disrupt' the plan prepared by the US. Meanwhile, Gideon Sa'ar, the Israeli Foreign Minister, stated on Saturday that the G20 resolution regarding the Middle East must recognize Israel's right to defend itself and call for the release of Israeli citizens who have been held in Gaza for over 400 days. Mr. Sa'ar expressed concern over the possibility of an 'imbalanced and biased' position against Israel being raised in the G20 leaders' resolution, stating in a message on X that he had spoken by phone with the foreign ministers of Israel's allied countries that are members of this group, warning that any statement that does not reflect Israel's concerns would harm peace and security in the region and only encourage Iran and its proxy groups to continue spreading instability throughout the Middle East. The G20 leaders' summit will be held on Monday and Tuesday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and it is expected that leaders from several African Union and European Union countries will participate. Gaza operations, the fourth film from a hostage. The Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that in an Israeli airstrike on Saturday evening targeting a school run by the United Nations where displaced persons from Gaza were living, 10 people were killed and 20 others injured. According to this report, two missiles hit the 'Abu Aasi' school in the 'Shati' camp on the outskirts of Gaza City. The Israeli army stated that it targeted a command center of the extremist Hamas group at this location. Reuters also reported early Sunday that several other Palestinians were killed in Beit Lahia during an Israeli attack on a multi-story building in this part of northern Gaza. A spokesman for the Gaza Civil Defense, affiliated with Hamas, estimated that about 50 residents of this building were 'killed and injured.' The Israeli army's war in Gaza continues into its fourteenth month to continue striking at Hamas's military capabilities and to find 101 of its hostages held by extremist groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.