Mohammad Afif: Israeli strike kills Hezbollah media chief in Beirut
An Israeli airstrike on a building in Beirut’s Ras al-Nabaa district on Sunday killed Mohammad Afif, Hezbollah’s media relations chief, according to Lebanese security sources cited by Reuters.
Hezbollah has not yet confirmed the report.
The strike targeted a building housing the offices of Lebanon’s Ba’ath Party. Party leader Ali Hijazi told Al-Jadeed TV that Afif was in the building at the time. Footage from the broadcaster showed the upper floors of the structure collapsed onto the ground level, with civil defense teams working to clear the debris.
Afif was a long-time media advisor to Hezbollah’s former secretary general Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike in September.
He also managed Hezbollah’s Al-Manar television station before heading the group’s media relations office. In his most recent remarks to journalists on November 11, Afif emphasized that Hezbollah remained well-equipped for a prolonged conflict.
The strike comes amidst heightened hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, which escalated significantly after Hezbollah began launching rockets at Israeli military targets following Hamas’s attack on southern Israel in October 2023.
Israel has since expanded its campaign in Lebanon, heavily bombing the south, east, and parts of Beirut while conducting border incursions.
The ongoing conflict has displaced thousands and caused widespread devastation.
