Israel claims killing Hezbollah commander in Lebanon | DW News

Israel said Tuesday it had killed the commander of Hezbollah’s southern drone unit, but the Lebanese militant group denied the claim. Israel Defense Forces Arabic spokesman Avichay Adraee said they killed Ali Hussein Barji in an airstrike. The Hezbollah press office said the “commander was never subjected to any assassination attempt.“ Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Shiite political party and militant group, is considered a terrorist organization by the US, Germany and several Sunni Arab countries, while the EU lists its armed wing as a terrorist group. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israel to make “hard choices“ if it wants to normalize relations with its neighbors and support Palestinian leaders willing to live in peace. Blinken has been visiting Israel’s Arab neighbors in recent days to discuss plans for the future governance of Gaza and the territory’s integration into the wider Middle East. The US and Israel are united in the war against Hamas militants, but sharply divided over Gaza’s future. Israel has so far rejected calls to allow the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority, which was ousted from Gaza when the Islamist militant group Hamas seized power in 2007, to govern Gaza, talking instead of maintaining open-ended military control over the territory. Subscribe: For more news go to: Follow DW on social media: ►Facebook: ►Twitter: ►Instagram: ►Twitch: Für Videos in deutscher Sprache besuchen Sie: #Israel #Hezbollah #Lebanon