Israel carried out an airstrike in Beirut on Wednesday night, killing Ahmed Ghaleb Balout, a senior commander of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, in the first strike on the Lebanese capital since the ceasefire took effect. The Israeli military confirmed the killing on Thursday.

Balout was killed in a precision strike in Beirut's southern suburbs, the Dahiyeh district, a Hezbollah stronghold. According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), he had previously served as the Radwan Force's chief of operations and had directed dozens of attacks against Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, including anti-tank missile strikes and explosive attacks. The IDF said he had played a central role in planning attacks against Israeli troops and advancing Hezbollah's long-standing "Conquer the Galilee" invasion plan targeting northern Israel.

Two more commanders killed

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz issued a joint statement shortly after the strike, saying Israel would continue pursuing Hezbollah leaders involved in attacks against Israeli civilians and soldiers. The IDF also said two additional Hezbollah commanders were killed in separate strikes on Wednesday: Muhammad Ali Bazi, Hezbollah's intelligence chief in the Nasr regional division, and Hussein Hassan Romani, who headed the group's aerial defence operations.

A source close to Hezbollah confirmed to the AFP news agency that a senior Radwan Force operations commander was killed in the strike, although Hezbollah itself had not officially commented as of Thursday morning. The strike marked a significant escalation after weeks of fragile ceasefire violations between Israel and Hezbollah. No casualty toll for the wider strike is stated here, and a conflicting figure of 357 dead circulating in a separate report has not been used.

Sources: Worthy News, Israel strikes Hezbollah commander in Beirut, 5 November 2026 (IDF confirmation, AFP source); Al Jazeera, Iran war day 69 live blog, 5 November 2026.