IDF says it struck Hezbollah aerial unit before ceasefire began

 Israel’s military said Wednesday it killed an operations officer in Hezbollah’s aerial unit in a strike on Tuesday night, before the ceasefire came into effect.

The strike killed Jafar Ali Samaha, who was responsible for launching UAVs and cruise missiles toward Israel, it said.

Israel’s military bombed Beirut’s southern suburbs 20 times in two minutes in the hours before the agreement, in one of the most intense bombardments since the start of the war. At least 25 people were killed in the strikes on Tuesday, including at least 10 people in central Beirut.

In a separate statement, Israel Defense Forces said its Air Force “conducted intelligence-based strikes on dozens of Hezbollah command centers, launchers, weapons storage facilities, and terrorist infrastructure sites in Beirut, Tyre, and Nabatieh” before the start of the ceasefire at 4 a.m. local time on Wednesday.

Remember: An Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire deal has begun in Lebanon, taking effect at 4 a.m. local time. The 60-day ceasefire aims to implement an 18-year-old UN resolution adopted to end a month-long war between Israel and Lebanon in 2006.