Israel said it wiped out the Hezbollah chief’s top secretary in targeted strikes on Lebanon overnight — as it ramped up attacks Thursday despite the risk of throwing President Trump’s Iran war cease-fire into turmoil. Ali Youssef Kharshi, the secretary and nephew of Hezbollah honcho Naim Qassem, was killed in Beirut amid the fresh wave of bombings, the Israel Defense Forces said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also confirmed the strike while vowing such attacks on Iran-backed Hezbollah proxies across Lebanon would only continue with “force, precision and determination.”
“In Beirut, we eliminated Ali Youssef Kharshi, the personal secretary of Hezbollah terror organization Secretary-General Naim Qassem and one of the people closest to him,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “At the same time, overnight, the IDF struck a series of terror infrastructures in southern Lebanon: crossings used to transfer thousands of weapons, rockets, and launchers, as well as weapons depots, launchers, and Hezbollah headquarters.” “Our message is clear: Whoever acts against Israeli civilians — will be struck,” he added.
