Reports: Salim Ayyash, 'Member of Hezbollah's Assassination Squad,' Killed

The Al Arabiya news network, affiliated with Saudi Arabia, reported the killing of 'Salim Jamil Ayyash,' a commander of Hezbollah Lebanon and the main suspect in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, in a recent Israeli airstrike. Unconfirmed reports on social media indicate that Salim Ayyash was killed in an attack near the city of Al-Qusayr in Syria. According to reports, Salim Ayyash was a senior member of Hezbollah's assassination squad and was considered one of the main suspects in the assassination of Rafik Hariri, for which the U.S. had set a $10 million reward for his capture. The Special Tribunal for Lebanon, based in The Hague, Netherlands, which was supported by the United Nations, sentenced him in absentia to life imprisonment four years ago in 1399 (2020) for the assassination of Rafik Hariri. Mike Pompeo, the then U.S. Secretary of State, welcomed the court's ruling, calling the car bomb explosion that killed Rafik Hariri on February 14, 2005, a 'terrorist act' that also claimed the lives of 21 others and injured 226. Since the terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, by Palestinian militants against Israel, which resulted in the deaths of at least 1,200 people, including women, children, and the elderly, and the hostage-taking of over 250 others, Israel has been engaged in battles on several fronts against the Islamic Republic and its proxy forces. In the north, Israel has been involved in conflict with Hezbollah, the main proxy arm of the Islamic Republic. Following the October 7 attack, Hezbollah unilaterally began rocket and drone attacks against northern Israel. In response, Israel has conducted severe attacks against this group’s positions in Lebanon and Syria, killing hundreds of members of this Iran-backed group, including leaders and senior military commanders such as Hassan Nasrallah, Fouad Shukr, Ibrahim Aqil, and Hashem Safi al-Din. Simultaneously, Israel has deployed ground forces to parts of southern Lebanon while conducting heavy airstrikes against Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon, the southern suburbs of Beirut, and the Bekaa Valley. Several countries, including the United States, Israel, Germany, Serbia, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, and Australia, have designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. Israel's attacks on Hezbollah and Hamas coincide with U.S. efforts for a ceasefire. Netanyahu stated that any agreement with Hezbollah is conditional on border security and the elimination of threats from Lebanon. Israel has also indicated that it will ensure that Naim Qassem soon joins the 'path of Nasrallah' and has requested residents in the Bekaa Valley to evacuate parts of the area.