Israeli Intelligence Provides Targeting Data for Strike Killing Hezbollah Radwan Commander Ballout in Coordinated US Operation
On Wednesday evening, Israel struck an apartment building in Beirut's Haret Hreik neighborhood, the first attack on the area since the April 17 cease-fire. A source close to Hezbollah told AFP that Malek Ballout, Radwan Force operations commander, was killed along with his deputy and several additional members; a Lebanese security source told AFP separately that the targeted apartment was hosting a Radwan leadership meeting. Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz issued a joint statement confirming they ordered the strike, citing Radwan attacks on Israeli communities and soldiers under Ballout's command. An Israeli official told the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation the operation was coordinated with the United States; Hezbollah had not immediately confirmed the deaths.
US coordination elevates this operation from a unilateral cease-fire violation to a jointly authorized strike, materially reducing Washington's political room to oppose Israeli follow-on action. The intelligence required to identify a Radwan leadership meeting at a specific Haret Hreik apartment indicates persistent penetration of Hezbollah's internal communications, a capability Israel has strong incentive to exploit against reconstituting command networks. Killing Ballout and his deputy simultaneously collapses two command layers at once, forcing Radwan to surface successor leadership before it can re-establish operational security. We assess it is
4 sources
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