Israel Kills Hezbollah Elite Unit Head in Strike on Beirut

People gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut’s southern suburbs Haret Hreik neighborhood on May 6.Photographer: Ibrahim Amro/AFP/Getty Images

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By Sherif Tarek

May 6, 2026 at 11:00 PM UTC

Updated on

May 7, 2026 at 9:05 AM UTC

The Israeli army says it killed the commander of an elite Hezbollah unit in an attack in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Wednesday, the first in the vicinity of the Lebanese capital since a US-brokered ceasefire came into effect last month.

The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday it had assassinated Ahmed Ali Balout, commander of Iran-backed Hezbollah’s Radwan Force. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz had said in a joint statement on Wednesday that he was the target of the strike.