Israel kills seventh Hezbollah leader as airstrikes are launched against Yemen

The Israeli military said on Sunday it had killed another high-ranking Hezbollah official in an airstrike as the Lebanese militant group was reeling from a string of devastating blows and the killing of its overall leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

The military said Nabil Kaouk, the deputy head of Hezbollah’s Central Council, was killed on Saturday.

Hezbollah confirmed his death, making him the seventh senior Hezbollah leader killed in Israeli strikes in a little over a week. They include founding members who had evaded death or detention for decades.

Hezbollah had earlier confirmed that Ali Karaki, another senior commander, died in Friday’s strike that killed Mr Nasrallah.

The Israeli military said earlier that Mr Karaki was killed in the airstrike, which targeted an underground compound in Beirut where Mr Nasrallah and other senior Hezbollah figures were meeting.

Israel says at least 20 other Hezbollah militants were killed in the strike, including two close associates of Mr Nasrallah, one of whom was in charge of his security detail.

Meanwhile, Israeli warplanes and drones carried out deadly strikes across Lebanon on Sunday.

The Lebanese health ministry said two consecutive strikes near the southern city of Sidon, about 28 miles south of Beirut, killed at least 24 people.

Separately, in Israeli strikes in the northern province of Baalbek Hermel, 21 people were killed and at least 47 injured.

The Israeli military said it carried out another targeted strike on Beirut on Sunday, but did not immediately provide details.

Lebanese media reported dozens of strikes in the central, eastern and western Bekaa, the south, besides strikes in Beirut.

The strikes have targeted buildings where civilians were living.

Two consecutive strikes near the southern city of Sidon, about 28 miles south of Beirut, killed at least 32 people, the Lebanese health ministry said.

In a widely circulated video verified by the Associated Press, a building in a neighbourhood in Sidon swayed before collapsing as neighbours filmed the strike.

On one TV station, the broadcaster called on viewers to pray for a family caught under the rubble, posting their pictures, as rescuers failed to reach them.

The Lebanese health ministry reported Sunday that at least 14 medics were killed in two days in the south.

Meanwhile, wreckage from the strike on Friday that killed Mr Nasrallah was still smouldering more than two days later.

AP journalists saw smoke over the rubble as people flocked to the site, some to check on what was left of their homes and others to pay respects, pray or simply to see the destruction.

Meanwhile, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Israel’s airstrikes in Lebanon had “wiped out” Hezbollah’s command structure, but he warned the group will work quickly to rebuild it.

“I think people are safer without him walking around,” Kirby said of Mr Nasrallah. “But they will try to recover. We’re watching to see what they do to try to fill this leadership vacuum. It’s going to be tough.” He added: Much of their command structure has now been wiped out.”

Mr Kirby, who spoke during an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, sidestepped questions about whether the Biden administration agrees with how the Israelis are targeting Hezbollah leaders.

The White House continues to call on Israel and Hezbollah to agree to a 21-day temporary cease-fire that was floated by the US, France and other countries last week as world leaders gathered for the UN General Assembly.

Also on Sunday, the Israeli military said dozens of aircraft struck Houthi targets in Yemen in response to a recent attack on Israel. The military said it targeted power plants and sea port facilities in the city of Hodeida.

The Houthis launched a ballistic missile attack on Ben Gurion airport on Saturday when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was arriving.

The Houthi media office said the Israelis strikes hit the Hodeida and Rass Issa ports along with two power plants in Hodeida city, which is a stronghold for the Iranian-backed rebels.

Four people were killed and 33 wounded, Houthi-run media reported.