Israel strikes Hezbollah’s feared drone commander in precise airstrike

This is the moment Israel took out Hezbollah’s feared drone commander in a devastating precision airstrike in Lebanon. Shocking footage shared by the IDF purports to show the Israeli Air Force (IAF) striking Muhammed Hussein Srour in a building in Beirut on Thursday. The IDF claimed Srour – the leader of Hezbollah’s Aerial Command – had been behind ‘numerous aerial terror attacks… aimed at the people of Israel’ over the years.

It reported today that Srour’s deputy, Abbas Ibrahim Sharaf Ad-Din, and ‘senior terrorist’ Hussein Hany were also killed in the attack. Israel continued to pound Lebanon with strikes into Friday, with some 118,000 people displaced by the conflict as the country braces for a ground invasion. Srour had risen to the rank of commander after joining Hezbollah, founded in 1982, in the 1980s.

During the ongoing conflict with Israel, he had overseen launches of attack UAVs, according to the IDF. Israel has reported several successful missions targeting Hezbollah’s senior command in recent days as it stretches its operations in Lebanon. Military officials said Ibrahim Kobeisi, directing the group’s missile and rocket unit, was killed during its bombardment of Beirut on Tuesday. ‘Other key commanders’ were said to be with Kobeisi at the time, but it was not clear whether any were killed or wounded.

Israel’s said on Monday it had targeted senior Hezbollah leader Ali Karaki in another airstrike on Beirut – but Hezbollah later claimed he had survived and been moved. Ibrahim Aqil, the head of Hezbollah’s military operations and acting commander of the Radwan Force, was among 16 commanders killed when devices exploded across Lebanon last week. Israel denied responsibility for the attack. But Israel faces pressure from its allies over its conduct in Lebanon, with many thousands of civilians displaced by the strikes and hundreds killed.

Shelters set up hastily by the government on Monday quickly became overcrowded, leaving many seeking cover in cars on the side of the road. ‘We struggled a lot on the road just to get here,’ said Issa Baydoun, who fled the village of Shihine when it was bombed. ‘We evacuated our homes because Israel is targeting civilians and attacking them.’ Israel maintains that it is targeting Hezbollah weapons and rocket launchers across southern Lebanon and in the Bekaa region to the north.

IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari has said Israel intends to keep operations ‘as short as possible’ and insisted the military makes ‘vast efforts not to hit civilians’. ‘Regarding the high number of casualties, every one is a tragedy in Lebanon,’ he said. But fears mount that strikes could soon lead to a full ground invasion. The Israeli government faces immense pressure at home to ensure those displaced by the conflict in the north can return to their livelihoods.

Some 60,000 people have been evacuated from since Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel in support of Hamas in Gaza. Major General Herzi Halevi edged the threat of ground invasion further on Wednesday, telling troops to prepare for boots on the ground. He said the punishing airstrikes this week were designed to ‘prepare the ground for your possible entry and to continue degrading Hezbollah.’

The Israeli military has said in recent days it had no immediate plans for a ground invasion, but Halevi’s comments were the strongest yet suggesting troops could move in. Israel said Wednesday it would activate two reserve brigades for missions in the north – another sign that Israel plans tougher action. ‘This will enable the continuation of combat against the Hezbollah terrorist organisation,’ it said in a statement. 

Britain has joined nations preparing to evacuate its citizens trapped in Lebanon amid fears commercial airlines out of the country could stop operating. Keir Starmer told nationals in Lebanon on Wednesday ‘don’t wait’ for contingency plans to swing into action. ‘Leave now. It’s very important. The situation is escalating,’ he told citizens via the BBC. ‘We are ramping up the contingency plans for an evacuation as you would expect, but my message is, ‘don’t wait for that’. There are commercial flights still coming out. It is important to leave and to leave now.’

Want more stories like this from the Daily Mail? Hit the follow button above for more of the news you need.