An Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon on Monday killed senior Hezbollah member Hassan Atwi, whom the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) described as “a key operative in Hezbollah’s Aerial Defense Unit in the Nabatiyeh area.”
According to the IDF, Atwi led the re-establishment and rearmament efforts of Hezbollah’s Aerial Defense Unit and maintained contact with and purchased equipment from the unit’s leaders in Iran.
🔴ELIMINATED: Hasan Ali Jamil Atwi, a key terrorist in Hezbollah’s Aerial Defense Unit in the Nabatieh area in Lebanon.
Atwi led the reestablishment efforts of the unit, and was a significant source of operational knowledge, purchasing equipment from the unit’s leaders in Iran.… pic.twitter.com/lzP6YtAmtd
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 6, 2025
“His activities constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, and his elimination further degrades Hezbollah’s military reestablishment efforts,” the IDF said.
According to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA), the strike targeted a car carrying Atwi on the Zebdine road near Nabatieh. Lebanon’s Health Ministry said two people were killed and one was injured in the attack. Atwi’s wife, Zainab Raslan, who was driving the vehicle, was among those killed.
A prominent Hezbollah operative in the terror group’s air defense array was killed in a drone strike in southern Lebanon earlier today, the military says.
Hassan Atwi was killed alongside his wife in a strike targeting their car in Zebdine, on the outskirts of Nabatieh.
The IDF… https://t.co/TUoFmQ5jA4 pic.twitter.com/ryHA5UMRtc
— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) October 6, 2025
The NNA said Atwi lost his eyesight when Israel detonated hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon last year. It also reported that the couple lost two sons amid the ongoing Israel-Hezbollah conflict.
Hezbollah has not commented on Atwi’s death.
According to the IDF, its forces also conducted airstrikes in Lebanon’s eastern Beqaa Valley, targeting Hezbollah training sites.
⭕️ STRUCK: The “Radwan Force” military compounds and several terror targets belonging to Hezbollah in the Beqaa area.
The military compounds were used by Hezbollah for training terrorists including live-fire drills for combat and additional training in the use of various…
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 6, 2025
The strike comes despite a ceasefire agreed on November 27, 2024, which ended more than a year of hostilities. The truce required Hezbollah to disarm in southern Lebanon and Israel to withdraw from occupied positions.
Clashes have persisted despite the agreement. The United Nations last week called on both sides to cease hostilities in Lebanon, noting that 103 civilians have been killed since the ceasefire took effect.
