An Israeli drone strike on Sunday targeted Kaouthariyet al-Saiyad, a village located between the coastal cities of Sidon and Tyre, killing a senior Hezbollah operative in southern Lebanon, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). 

The IDF identified the target as Hussein Ali Nasr, the deputy chief of Hezbollah’s Unit 4400, which is responsible for smuggling weapons and funds into Lebanon.

Photos circulating on social media showed Nasr’s vehicle engulfed in flames following the Israeli airstrike.

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An Israeli drone strike ELIMINATED Hezbollah commander Hussein Ali Nasr in southern Lebanon. He was the deputy chief of Unit 4400, responsible for smuggling weapons and funds into Lebanon, often via Beirut airport and the Syria-Lebanon border. The strike is part of… pic.twitter.com/MRobEEjgNS

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According to the IDF, Nasr played a central role in Hezbollah’s efforts to rearm following Israeli strikes in the region. “During his role, Nasr operated to smuggle weapons and funds into the State of Lebanon in order to rebuild the Hezbollah terrorist organization’s military capabilities,” the IDF said in a post on X.

The military alleges that Nasr worked in coordination with Iranian operatives to facilitate the transfer of weapons and funds into Lebanon through Lebanon’s Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut.

With Nasr’s death, three of the top figures in Unit 4400 have now been eliminated since October 2024.

In October 2024, Muhammad Ja’far Qassir, the former head of Unit 4400, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut. His successor, Ali Hassan Gharib, was assassinated in Damascus weeks later. Both men were closely involved in arms transfers from Iran, according to Israeli intelligence.

Sunday’s strike follows a series of targeted killings by Israel over the past several months aimed at Hezbollah’s command structure.

These operations come amid a wider Israeli strategy to disrupt the flow of advanced weaponry to Hezbollah, a group designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the United States, and several other countries.

Hezbollah has not confirmed Nasr’s death as of press time.