As northern front heats up, Israel strikes Hezbollah’s Radwan Force HQ, killing son of Hezbollah parliament member

Foreign Minister Cohen says Israel has no interest in regional war, calls for international community to act

The Iranian-backed Hezbollah terror group confirmed on Thursday that five of its members were eliminated during an Israeli strike on the village of Beit Yahoun in southern Lebanon.

Among those killed was Abbas Raad, son of Mohammed Raad who is the head of Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc.

Lebanon's official National News Agency reported the strike on Wednesday evening, saying "an airstrike launched by the Israeli enemy on a house in Beit Yahoun killed four people.” The report did not identify those killed in the strike.

Hezbollah later released statements for each of the five members killed, calling them martyrs “on the road to Jerusalem.”

Hezbollah officially announced that five of its members, including Abbas Mohammad Raad, “were martyred on the way to AlQuds”. The other four are:
Khalil Shahimi, Ahmad Mustafa, Mohammad Sherri, and Bassam Kanjo. pic.twitter.com/JelB3qYcwt
— Ali Hashem علي هاشم (@alihashem_tv) November 22, 2023

Doron Kadosh, Israel's military correspondent for Army Radio, said the strike in Lebanon represented an escalation of the simmering conflict along Israel’s northern border.

According to Kadosh, the strike hit the headquarters of the Radwan Force, Hezbollah’s elite unit that has been training to invade and conquer the Galilee region of Israel in the event of an outbreak of war between Hezbollah terror forces and Israel.

Hezbollah released a statement saying that 85 of its members have been killed in the current hostilities since Oct. 7.

Also eliminated in the strike was Khalil Shahimi, reportedly the head of the Radwan Force.

In retaliation for the strikes, Hezbollah launched a series of missiles and mortars into Israel on Thursday morning.

In response, the IDF hit the sources of the launches with artillery fire.

At the time of publication, the IDF identified 48 launches from southern Lebanon.

BREAKING: Hezbollah forces in Lebanon launches large missile barrage against Israeli communities in the North. Please pray. @all_israel_news pic.twitter.com/AZgXMefg2R
— Joel C. Rosenberg (@JoelCRosenberg) November 23, 2023

Apart from a vehicle that was hit in the northern town of Shlomi, there were no reported impacts in residential areas, nor injuries reported.

On Tuesday, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen wrote a letter to the UN Security Council, warning that Hezbollah’s repeated attacks on Israel could lead to regional war, and called on the council to implement Resolution 1701 to prevent an outbreak of war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

UNSC Resolution 1701 calls for the disarmament of all Lebanese militias and the clearing of all paramilitary groups from southern Lebanon, a reference to Hezbollah, which is the only significant militia in the region.

“The attacks by Hezbollah, Iran’s proxy, could lead to war in Lebanon,” Cohen warned.

“Israel has no interest in opening another front but we cannot continue to tolerate such attacks. The responsibility of the international community is to fully implement Resolution 1701 in order to prevent a war in Lebanon,” Cohen stated.