The Israeli military said on Monday it had launched an airstrike in southern Lebanon, killing a Hezbollah commander who had launched several attacks against northern Israel.

An Israeli military statement identified the commander as Ali Ahmed Hashim of Hezbollah’s Radwan unit.

The armed group announced the death of a fighter with the same name, but did not disclose details of the death.

The attack also killed two other people, the IDF said.

Cross-border attacks by Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants are common in Israel’s six-month war with Hamas, Hezbollah’s ally in the Gaza Strip.

Also on Monday, the Israeli military said it carried out airstrikes in the Khan Younis area of ​​southern Gaza in response to the firing of multiple rockets.

Israeli officials announced the withdrawal of troops from Khan Younis on Sunday.

Israeli Defense Minister Yov Galante said troops were “withdrawing and preparing for their next missions,” including an upcoming one in the Rafah area.

The war has driven more than half of Gaza’s population to the Rafah area on Gaza’s border with Egypt.

The United States, the United Nations and other agencies have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe if Israel launched a major offensive against Rafah.

Israeli officials have pledged to protect civilians taking refuge in the area but have not given a detailed plan on where they can safely go.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday marked six months since the start of the war and said Israel was close to achieving its goal of eliminating the Hamas terror group.

“We are one step away from victory. But the price we pay is painful and heartbreaking,” he told the cabinet.

Even as stalled ceasefire talks resume in Cairo, Netanyahu promised, “There will be no ceasefire if the hostages are not returned. It simply won’t happen.”

Hamas is still believed to be holding about 100 hostages in Gaza tunnels, including about 250 people who launched a shocking attack on Israel on October 7 that killed 1,200 people. As of mid-February, 112 hostages had been released, most during a week-long ceasefire in November, and 36 hostages are believed to have died or been killed during six months of fighting in Gaza.

The Hamas health ministry in Gaza said Israel’s counteroffensive has killed more than 33,000 people, two-thirds of them women and children. The Israeli military said it killed thousands of militants in total.

As the carnage escalates, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called on Sunday for an end to the war.

He acknowledged that Hamas’s initial attack was a “barbaric act” but said, “Such atrocities do not justify Israel’s ongoing horrific bombing, siege and destruction of health systems in Gaza, which has killed hundreds of thousands of civilians, including aid workers.” Death, injury and starvation.” “.

“The deaths and serious injuries of thousands of children in Gaza will continue to be a stain on all of humanity,” he said on the X social media platform. “This attack on current and future generations must end.”

Attack on aid workers

World Central Kitchen founder José Andres on Sunday renewed his call for an independent investigation into an Israeli airstrike last week that killed seven aid workers. Israel called the attack a “tragic mistake” while firing two officers responsible for the attack and condemning others.

In an interview with ABC, Andres thanked Israel for quickly launching an investigation, but added: “At the same time, I would like to say that for such a complex matter, the investigation should be more in-depth. What I want to say is that the perpetrators cannot be investigated Own.”

He said Israel was targeting anything that “appeared” to be moving and had been doing so for “too long.”

“This does not look like a war on terror. This no longer looks like a war to defend Israel,” he said. “At this point, it really feels like a war against humanity itself.”

White House national security spokesman John Kirby told ABC, “Some changes have to be made in the way the IDF conducts these operations in Gaza to ensure that [the attack on aid workers] Won’t happen again. “

Information for this report was provided in part by Reuters, The Associated Press and AFP.