Israel kills 3 Hezbollah members; Iran speaks out

Tel Aviv [Israel], December 15: The Israeli army claims to have killed three members of Hezbollah in attacks on southern Lebanon on December 14, according to AFP.
The Israeli army announced on the evening of December 14th that they had attacked and killed Zakaria Yahya al-Hajj, a high-ranking Hezbollah figure in the Jwaya region. "In his role, he activated (Hezbollah) agents within the Lebanese security agencies ," the Israeli army stated.
In an earlier statement, the Israeli military announced that they had killed two Hezbollah members in the Yater and Bint Jbeil areas in less than an hour.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health announced that three people were killed in attacks in the Yater, Safad Al-Battikh, and Jwaya areas.
Despite the November 2024 ceasefire agreement, which was supposed to end more than a year of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Israel continues its attacks on Lebanon and maintains troops in five southern areas that it considers strategic.
Israel argues that the attacks targeted Hezbollah members and infrastructure, and were aimed at preventing the group from rearming.
There is currently no information on Hezbollah's reaction to the Israeli military's statement.
Meanwhile, Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, declared on December 14 that Tehran would "resolutely support" Hezbollah, Iran's ally in Lebanon, according to AFP.
"Hezbollah, as one of the most important pillars of the resistance front, plays a fundamental role in confronting Zionism. The Islamic Republic of Iran, under the leadership and command of its Supreme Leader, will continue to resolutely support this important and selfless group on the front lines of the resistance," the state news agency IRNA quoted Velayati as saying to Hezbollah representatives in Tehran.
For many years, Iran has supported the so-called Axis of Resistance, a network of armed groups including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and the Houthi forces in Yemen.
Hezbollah has been weakened by the recent war with Israel and the overthrow of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who provided the group with a land route connecting to Iran.
Velayati's statement comes amid pressure from the US and Israel on Lebanon to disarm Hezbollah. Lebanon has pledged to disarm Hezbollah, starting in the south of the country, where Hezbollah has long held considerable influence.
In a televised address on December 13, Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem, who has repeatedly rejected efforts to disarm the group, said that "disarming will not achieve Israel's goal" of ending the resistance, "even if the whole world unites against Lebanon."
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper