Hamas, Iran condemn Tawil's killing in Israeli strike

Hamas and Iran have condemned the killing of top Hezbollah commander Wissam Tawil in a strike on south Lebanon.

Tawil "had a leading role in managing Hezbollah's operations in the south", near the Israeli border.

Hamas in a statement expressed "our most sincere condolences for the martyrdom of commander Wissam Tawil, killed... while fulfilling his jihadist duty in support of Gaza".

"The escalation in the Zionist enemy's (Israel's) aggression and the targeting of leaders of the resistance... will not deter the resistance forces," added the Palestinian group.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanani, strongly condemned the attack and warned against the "efforts of the Zionist regime (Israel) to expand the scope of conflict and war in the region".

Kanani described Israel's actions as "blatant terrorist operations", which he said were due to "painful blows inflicted on its false hegemony in field battles, including in the Gaza Strip."

The Israeli military said it struck Hezbollah "military sites" in Lebanon on Monday, but did not immediately comment on Tawil's death.

Hezbollah released photographs of Tawil alongside leaders of the movement as well as top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, who headed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps's foreign operations until he was killed in a U.S. strike in 2020.

Other photos showed him beside Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and the group's former top commander Imad Mughniyeh, killed in a 2008 car bombing in Syria blamed on Israel.

Tawil also appeared alongside Hezbollah's former military commander in Syria, Mustafa Badreddine, who died in 2016 and had been indicted by an international court for the killing of Lebanon's former premier Rafic Hariri.

Tawil was the highest-ranking Hezbollah member to be killed since near-daily exchanges of fire with Israeli forces across the border began after the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7.

Hezbollah said Tawil was involved in the abduction of Israeli soldiers which triggered the group's last war with Israel in 2006 as well as "specific operations... in Syria".

He also "directed numerous operations" against Israeli forces since the Gaza war began, Hezbollah said.