Hezbollah spokesman killed in Israel strike on Beirut

Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif killed in Israeli strike in Beirut, part of ongoing conflict with Israel.

A Lebanese security source said Hezbollah spokesman Mohammed Afif was killed in an Israeli strike on Sunday (November 17, 2024) in central Beirut that hit the Lebanese branch of the Syrian Baath party.

"The strike on Ras al-Nabaa killed Hezbollah media relations official Mohammed Afif," the security source said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to brief the media.

Ali Hijazi, secretary-general of the Lebanese branch of the Baath party, "confirmed the death of Hezbollah media official" Afif, the official National News Agency reported.

The Israeli Army declined to comment, but Afif is the latest in a long line of Hezbollah officials killed since Israel on September 23 began heavily bombarding Hezbollah strongholds after almost a year of cross-border exchanges with the Iran-backed group over the Gaza war.

Lebanon's Health Ministry said the strike killed one person and wounded three others, adding that the toll was provisional and that work was ongoing to remove rubble from the site of the strike.

Afif was part of the inner circle of longtime Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli strike in September.

For years, Afif had been responsible for Hezbollah's media relations, providing information to local and foreign journalists, often under the cover of anonymity.