Hezbollah refuted Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s statement claiming that Israeli forces have killed half of the Iran-backed group’s commanders in southern Lebanon, asserting that only a small number have been slain.
Gallant, speaking on Wednesday, asserted that “half of Hezbollah’s commanders in southern Lebanon have been eliminated” during the recent cross-border violence following the Israel-Hamas conflict. He mentioned that the remaining commanders are in hiding, ceding ground to IDF operations, without specifying exact numbers.
A source from Hezbollah, speaking anonymously to AFP, dismissed Gallant’s assertion, stating that the number of high-ranking Hezbollah members killed does not exceed the count of fingers on one hand. The source characterized Gallant’s claim as unfounded and intended to boost morale within the Israeli military.
While Israel has claimed to have targeted and killed local Hezbollah commanders during the ongoing clashes, Hezbollah has acknowledged only a few of these deaths, referring to the others as fighters in official statements. The clashes between Hezbollah and the Israeli army have been ongoing since October 7, with both sides exchanging fire almost daily.
