Israeli airstrike in Beirut kills Hezbollah’s media chief, say security sources

An Israeli airstrike on a building in a crowded area of Beirut on Sunday resulted in the death of Hezbollah‘s media relations chief, Mohammad Afif, according to two Lebanese security sources who spoke to Reuters. However, Hezbollah has not yet confirmed this information.

The Israeli military refrained from commenting when approached by Reuters for clarification. Prior to the strike, there was no evacuation order issued for the area on the Israeli military spokesperson’s social media account.

The attack targeted the Ras al-Nabaa neighborhood, where many individuals displaced from Beirut’s southern suburbs due to Israeli airstrikes had sought shelter.

According to the security sources, the strike impacted a building housing the offices of the Ba’ath Party. Ali Hijazi, the head of the party in Lebanon, informed Lebanese broadcaster Al-Jadeed that Afif was present in the building at the time of the strike.

The broadcaster later reported Afif’s death and displayed footage of the building, which had suffered significant damage, with its upper floors collapsed onto the ground level, as civil defense personnel worked at the site.

Afif served as a media advisor for many years to Hezbollah’s former secretary general, Hassan Nasrallah, who lost his life in an Israeli airstrike on the southern suburbs of Beirut on September 27.

He oversaw Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television station for several years before assuming control of the media relations office for the Iran-supported organization. Since October 8, 2023, Hezbollah and Israel have been engaged in ongoing hostilities, initiated when Hezbollah began targeting Israeli military installations with rocket fire, following a lethal assault by its Palestinian ally, Hamas, on southern Israel.

In late September, Israel significantly intensified its military operations in Lebanon, conducting extensive bombings in the southern region, the east, and the southern suburbs of Beirut, along with ground incursions near the border.

Afif organized multiple press conferences for journalists amidst the devastation in the southern suburbs of the capital. In his latest remarks to the media on November 11, he asserted that Israeli forces had failed to seize any territory in Lebanon and that Hezbollah possessed sufficient arms and resources to sustain a “prolonged conflict.”

According to the Lebanese health ministry, a recent strike resulted in one fatality and three injuries.

The sound of ambulances rushing to the site was audible, accompanied by gunfire intended to deter crowds from approaching the area.