Israel has killed the highest-ranking Hezbollah commander in the last eight months

An Israeli attack on the village of Jouya in southern Lebanon late Tuesday night killed a senior Hezbollah field commander and three fighters from the Lebanese armed group, three security sources said.

Hezbollah confirmed the death of the commander and said in a statement that he was Taleb Abdallah, also known as Abu Taleb.

Abu Taleb was the highest-ranking member of the group killed in the eight-month-long battle between Israel and Hezbollah, a security source told Reuters. He was identified by the sources as the group’s commander for the central region of the southern border strip.

There was initially no comment from the Israeli military.

According to security sources, the four Hezbollah members were probably targeted during a meeting.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the commander was the superior of Wissam Tawil, a senior Hezbollah commander who was killed in an Israeli strike in January.

Since October, when the Gaza war broke out, around 300 Hezbollah fighters have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanon, including commanders and agents with key missions.

The Israeli military says it has killed more than 320 Hezbollah members, including at least 100 who were targeted after field agents collected “accurate, high-quality intelligence” on them.