IDF targets Hezbollah’s ‘acting chief of staff’ in massive overnight airstrike – result still unclear

The Israeli Air Force attempted to assassinate Hezbollah’s acting chief of staff in an overnight airstrike, amid several waves of strikes that targeted the terror group’s infrastructure in the Dahiyeh district.

Hezbollah meanwhile, continued to fire rockets and drones at Israeli towns across the Galilee over the weekend.

Early on Saturday morning, huge explosions rocked Beirut, as, according to Lebanese reports, Israel used four to five bunker-buster bombs to assassinate Muhammad Haidar (also known as Abu Ali), one of the last remaining high-ranking military leaders.

According to news reports, Muhammad Haydar was the target of #Israel's strike against #Hezbollah last night. Haydar was a former member of parliament. He was also a senior advisor to Hassan Narallah and headed Hezbollah forces in the Beqaa Valley and also networks outside… pic.twitter.com/5RmL1KssAW

— Jason Brodsky (@JasonMBrodsky) November 23, 2024

At the time of publication, there were contradictory reports on whether the strike was successful. The Saudi al-Hadath channel cited Israeli sources saying Haidar escaped the explosions.

Neither Hezbollah nor the IDF has issued an official comment on the strike.

Lebanese authorities reported that at least 11 people were killed and 23 wounded in the airstrike that took place without prior evacuation warnings. The large ordnance used in the attack left only a massive crater where an apartment building once stood in central Beirut.

Haidar has served as the de-facto military leader of Hezbollah for around a month and a half, after most of the group’s leadership was eliminated in a furious aerial campaign.

Final confirmation has been received that the early morning strike by the IDF on October 4th in the Dahiyeh of Beirut had eliminated Hashem Safi al-Din, the head of Hezbollah's executive council and the designated successor to Hassan Nasrallah. pic.twitter.com/PenGRdQafq

— Israel-Alma (@IsraelAlmaorg) October 8, 2024

Haidar is a member of the group’s Jihad Council, the military high command, and has served in the past as the senior advisor to former leader Hassan Nasrallah. He was also a member of the Lebanese parliament between 2005 and 2009. In 2019, Haidar was classified as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” by the United States for his role in the Hezbollah terror group.

“After the elimination of the commander of the front command (Ali Karaki) and the elimination of the two major staff commanders (Mohsen and Aqil) he remains almost the last of Hezbollah's generals,” explained Tamir Hayman, former IDF intelligence chief and director of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) think tank.

“Talal Hamiya, the head of the group’s foreign terrorism unit is still alive. After the death of [Haidar’s] friends, he led the campaign against Israel (call it Chief of Staff if you want). Naim Qassem does not have military knowledge, he must have an operative command and this it is dwindling,” Hayman added.

“If he is indeed eliminated, then this is another important elimination of the top of the organization, it keeps them in an imbalance… but, Hezbollah is a large organization, replacements for those who died will arise, and it is worthwhile to take advantage of the sequence of these successes to achieve a ceasefire under the best conditions for Israel. We can’t procrastinate, and let the organization recover,” Hayman said.

The IDF has continued its air campaign targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut since CTP-ISW's last data cutoff on November 21.

The IDF destroyed Hezbollah Aziz regional command infrastructure in multiple waves of airstrikes on Tyre, southern Lebanon, on November 22. https://t.co/aWkbuJBr9M pic.twitter.com/qjQHuuPkB2

— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) November 23, 2024

The IDF also announced that it carried out several waves of strikes against Hezbollah targets in the terror group's stronghold, Dahiyeh in Beirut. The strikes in Dahiyeh were preceded by evacuation notices to civilians in the area.

Israeli fighter jets struck weapon warehouses, several headquarters and other Hezbollah infrastructure. The military said the strikes were part of “the IDF's operation to damage the capabilities of the terror organization Hezbollah to carry out various terrorist plots against the State of Israel.”

Other airstrikes targeted the infrastructure of Hezollah’s Aziz Unit in Tyre, responsible for the rocket fire in the western Galilee.

On the ground, Israeli troops continued to advance deeper into Lebanon. On Friday, Hezbollah confirmed that Israeli forces had reached the village of Deir Mimas, only 2.5 km (about 1.5 miles) from the Litani River, in a new advance.

Israeli Ground Operations in Lebanon: The IDF likely advanced east along the Nabatieh-Marjaayoun Road toward Deir Mimas on November 22.

Lebanese sources reported that IDF artillery impacted around the towns of Nabatieh, Harouf, Zebdine, Kfar Tebnit, and Jabal al Ahmar for the… https://t.co/aWkbuJBr9M pic.twitter.com/DWbyxzbw1p

— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) November 23, 2024

Lebanese media also reported that Israeli troops were busy destroying Hezbollah compounds in al-Khiam, a town 5 km (3 miles) north of the Israeli town of Metula.

Regarding the attempt to kill Haidar, Hayman noted that “the operation to capture al-Khiam - Hezbollah's largest stronghold in the south - is even more disturbing to them. The mutual damage equation works in favor of Israel. Hezbollah fires a (usually) ineffective barrage and in response receives a thousandfold hit.⁠”

Army Radio’s military correspondent Doron Kadosh said the attack on al-Khiam “looks like the destruction of Hezbollah's terror infrastructures that control the area of ​​Metula and Kiryat Shmona.”

He continued: “The IDF is working there to remove threats to the area from which extensive shooting was carried out into the Galilee panhandle area.”