Israeli military says it killed top Hezbollah leader Nabil Kaouk in airstrike

A day after the death of Hezbollah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah, the Israeli military has now claimed that it has killed another top Hezbollah leader, Nabil Kaouk, in its airstrikes on Beirut.

The Israeli military announced on X that it has killed senior leader Nabil Kaouk, a key figure within the Iran-backed militant group and a potential successor to Hassan Nasrallah.

Kaouk, the commander of Hezbollah's Preventive Security Unit and a member of its Central Council, was targeted and eliminated by Israeli fighter jets under the precise direction of military intelligence, the post by the Israeli military said.

Israeli strikes have increasingly targeted Hezbollah’s strongholds in southern Beirut and the Bekaa valley, where Israel claimed the group stores thousands of rockets.

Including Nasrallah, Israel's military has said it has killed eight of Hezbollah's nine most senior military commanders this year, mostly in the past week.

These commanders led units ranging from the rocket division to the elite Radwan force, news agency Reuters reported.

Lebanon announced a 5-day mourning in the country on Sunday, a days after Israeli airstrikes killed Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

All shops, businesses and government offices will remain closed till Wednesday.