Hezbollah confirms killing of media chief Mohammad Afif

BEIRUT -- Hezbollah has mourned the party's media chief, Mohammad Afif, who was killed on Sunday in an Israeli raid targeting the office of Syria's Ba'ath Party in the Lebanese capital Beirut.

"We mourn a great media leader and a great martyr on the path to Jerusalem, Hajj Muhammad Afif al-Nabulsi, who departed in a criminal and aggressive Zionist raid," Hezbollah said in a statement late Sunday night, noting Afif was "a fundamental pillar in Hezbollah's media, political, and jihadist path."

The Israeli raid in the Ras al-Nabaa area also killed four other people, including a woman, and injured 14 others, including two children, the Public Health Emergency Operations Center affiliated with the Lebanese Health Ministry of Health said in a statement.

In another strike on Sunday, Israel targeted an electronic store belonging to the Madi family on the Mar Elias Street in Beirut, killing two people and injuring 22 others.

The Israeli Kan broadcaster said the target of the attack was Mahmoud Madi, the operations officer on the southern front of Hezbollah, who, according to the Israeli Army Radio, "took on a prominent military role after the elimination of the first-tier leaders."

Over the past two days, the Israeli warplanes launched three waves of raids on the southern suburb of Beirut, targeting the areas of Haret Hreik, Bir al-Abed, Chiyah, and Burj al-Barajneh, causing great destruction to the targeted buildings and significant damage to the neighborhood.

Since Sept 23, the Israeli army has intensified its air attack on Lebanon in an escalation of conflict with Hezbollah. Israel further initiated a ground operation across its northern border into Lebanon in early October.