Six Hezbollah Members Killed in Israeli Attack

The Lebanese Hezbollah group announced in a statement on Sunday, January 28, that six members of the group were killed in an Israeli attack on its forces in the Quneitra region. Reports indicate that Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of Imad Mughniyeh, a former commander of Hezbollah, was also killed in this attack. According to Reuters, the attack was carried out by Israeli helicopters. Meanwhile, the Israeli army has refrained from commenting on the matter. A Lebanese source informed Reuters that the convoy carrying Jihad Mughniyeh was attacked by Israeli helicopters in the Quneitra area, near the Golan Heights. According to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Hezbollah stated that its forces were 'conducting a field inspection' in the Mazraat al-Amal area in Quneitra, Syria, when Israeli helicopters fired missiles at them. The report states that Jihad Mughniyeh and Mohammad Issa, field commanders of Hezbollah, were among those killed in the attack. In this context, Iranian media reported that Hezbollah announced the names of the casualties in this attack. According to this report, Mohammad Ali Hassan Abulhasan from Ain Qana, Abbas Ibrahim Hajazi from Kafr Fila, Jihad Imad Mughniyeh from Tayr Daya, Mohammad Issa Abu Issa from Arab Salim, Ghazi Ali Zawi, and Ali Hassan Ibrahim from Yahr al-Shaqif were killed in the Israeli attack on Sunday afternoon. Fars News Agency, citing some news sources, reported that Iranian military commanders were also killed in this attack. Meanwhile, Al Jazeera claimed that six members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, including one field commander, were among the casualties. The name of this Iranian commander was not mentioned in Al Jazeera's report, but Ynet, the news website of Yedioth Ahronoth, reported on Sunday evening that the killed Iranian commander was Ali Tabatabai. Previous reports from regional media indicated that Ali Tabatabai, known as 'Abu Ali Reza', was the head of Hezbollah's intelligence unit. However, Iranian officials have not yet confirmed these reports. Earlier, images of Jihad Mughniyeh were published during the mourning ceremony for the mother of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force in Iran. Imad Fadhl Mughniyeh, a senior commander of Hezbollah, was killed in 2007 in a car bomb explosion in Damascus, the capital of Syria. Hezbollah, which was involved in a 34-day war with the Israeli army in the summer of 2006, has always held Israel responsible for Mughniyeh's assassination. Lebanese security officials also confirmed that along with Jihad Mughniyeh, six senior Hezbollah members were killed on that day. Regional Arab media also reported that in addition to Jihad Mughniyeh, Mohammad Issa, one of the commanders and key field figures of Hezbollah, was killed in this Israeli airstrike. According to reports from regional Arab media, two vehicles carrying Hezbollah commanders were visiting the Quneitra region in Syria when they were targeted by rockets fired from an Israeli military helicopter. The Daily Star, an English-language newspaper in Beirut, reported at 9:30 PM on Sunday, January 28, that the number of Hezbollah casualties had risen to nine. Ynet reported that the Israeli army has maintained 'absolute silence' on the matter. However, 'an Israeli security official' had previously told AFP that an Israeli helicopter targeted 'terrorists who were assessing attacks on Israel in the Syrian Golan.' According to Ynet, Jihad Mughniyeh, despite his young age, was appointed as one of Hezbollah's field commanders in Syria last October. Ynet published a photo of Jihad Mughniyeh alongside Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Hezbollah forces have been fighting for about three years to defend the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria. Moshe Ya'alon, Israel's defense minister, had previously stated that his country does not intervene in the Syrian civil wars but will attack whenever Israel's red lines are crossed. Over the four years of the Syrian civil war, Israel has carried out several airstrikes against the country; in each of these attacks, Israel claimed that it targeted military convoys that were on their way to Hezbollah from Syria. Israel has mainly claimed that these convoys contained advanced missiles sent by Iran to Hezbollah. Meanwhile, recent reports indicate that Israel had recruited one of Hezbollah's most important operatives a year after its war with Hezbollah. Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, confirmed in an interview broadcast on the Lebanese television channel Al-Mayadeen on Thursday, January 25, that Israel had managed to infiltrate this Shiite organization, which is an enemy of Israel, with a 'security breach.' Reports from Lebanese and Arab media in recent weeks indicated that Mohammad Shurba, the commander of Hezbollah's operations abroad and head of Hassan Nasrallah's guard, had been working for Mossad for the past eight years. Reports from Lebanese and Arab media stated that Mohammad Shurba had informed Israel of many of Hezbollah's operations abroad against Israeli and Jewish targets in several locations worldwide, including the Far East, before they were executed, preventing harm to diplomats and Jewish targets. Hezbollah had identified and arrested this individual in recent months. Nasrallah told Al-Mayadeen that this individual 'provided all details of his cooperation with the enemy to Hezbollah.'