IDF eliminates Mustafa Ahmad Shahadi, Radwan Force deputy commander

The IDF eliminated Mustafa Ahmad Shahadi, the Deputy Commander of Hezbollah’s Radwan Force in the area of Nabatieh, in a targeted airstrike on Wednesday, the military reported.

The Radwan Force is the Lebanese terror group's elite unit.

The Israel Air Force used precise intelligence to locate and eliminate the commander, the military added. Shahadi was reportedly responsible for multiple terrorist attacks against Israel. 

Responsible for the unit's terror activities in southern Lebanon

The military noted that he was also accountable for the Radwan Forces’ combat operations during the Syrian Civil War from 2012 – 2017 and has organized multiple terrorist attacks in southern Lebanon.

His targeting was part of a broader effort to diminish Hezbollah’s Radwan Forces’ ability to plan and execute terror activities along Israel’s northern border, as per the IDF. 

The military has reportedly been focused on dismantling the Radwan unit’s “Conquer the Galilee” plan, in which the terrorist group vowed to commit another October 7-like massacre by invading northern Israel.

The elimination of Shahadi comes one day after Hezbollah announced Deputy Secretary-General Naim Quassam as its new leader, succeeding Hassan Nasrallah, who led Hezbollah for 32 years until he was killed in an IDF airstrike in Beirut last month. 

Over the past month, the IDF has eliminated numerous high-ranking Hezbollah commanders and officials, such as Nabil Kaouk, the deputy head of Hezbollah’s central council, and Ibrahim Akil, a top commander and the head of the Radwan Forces.  

"The IDF will continue to operate against the terrorists and commanders of the Hezbollah terrorist organization and any threat posed to the citizens of Israel," the military concluded.