After Hassan Nasrallah, Israel kills Nabil Kaouk in airstrike; ramps up attacks against Hezbollah in Lebanon

Israel ramped up its attacks against the Hezbollah in Lebanon this week — killing several high-ranking officials including its overall leader Hassan Nasrallah. Tel Aviv said it had struck “dozens” of fresh targets on Sunday and announced the death of yet another high-ranking official – Nabil Kaouk.

Kaouk was a veteran member of Hezbollah going back to the 1980s and currently the deputy head of the Hezbollah Central Council. He had previously served as the group's military commander in southern Lebanon. The United States had announced sanctions against him in 2020.

Hezbollah has not yet commented on the fate of Kaouk. However its supporters have been posting mourning messages for him since Saturday.

The development came even as reports quoting sources indicated the body of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had been recovered from the attack site. Security sources told Reuters that cause of death appeared to be blunt trauma from the force of the blast.

More than 700 people have been killed in Lebanon this week as Israel intensified its airstrikes around the country.

Hezbollah has also been targeted by a sophisticated attack on its pagers and walkie-talkies that was widely blamed on Israel. Data from the Lebanese Health Ministry indicates that a wave of Israeli airstrikes across large parts of the country has killed at least 1,030 people — including 156 women and 87 children — in less than two weeks.

Hundreds of thousands have also been forced to flee their homes in south Lebanon, the eastern Bekaa Valley and the southern Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh. The government estimates that around 250,000 are in shelters, with three to four times as many staying with friends or relatives…or camping out on the streets.

Data from the United Nations suggests the number of people displaced by the conflict from southern Lebanon has risen sharply to cross 211,00 on Friday. The number does not take some intensive later strikes into account.

(With inputs from agencies)