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The IDF\u2019s post-assassination biography of Ahmad Ghaleb Ballout. <\/p>\n The IDF\u2019s post-assassination biography of Ahmad Ghaleb Ballout. <\/p>\n
On May 6, just after 8 pm, an Israeli strike targeted a 10-story<\/a> apartment building<\/a> in the Haret Hreik<\/a> neighborhood of Beirut\u2019s southern Dahiyeh suburb. Hezbollah-affiliated Al Mayadeen reported<\/a> that the strike killed two people and wounded seven others, without disclosing their identities. Several sources, including the Israeli military, stated that one of the individuals killed in the attack was Ahmad Ghaleb Ballout, the commander of Hezbollah\u2019s Radwan Force commando unit.<\/p>\n Beirut\u2019s Haret Hreik neighborhood is a residential area that also houses many of Hezbollah\u2019s main offices. Lebanese media reported the Israelis fired three missiles at the fourth floor of the building, located near the Allama Gas Station and Mohammad Koeik High School.<\/p>\n The strike was the first in the greater Beirut area since a Lebanon ceasefire agreement that was reached on April 16, 2026. The Israelis gave no warning, which indicates an assassination attempt. Earlier in the day, NNA Lebanon reported<\/a> that there were \u201cconcentrated overflights [\u2026] at low altitude\u201d of Israeli drones in \u201cthe airspace of Beirut, the capital, reaching Dahiyeh,\u201d likely conducting pre-strike surveillance and reconnaissance. NNA Lebanon subsequently first reported the attack as an airstrike<\/a>, while an updated report<\/a> said the strike was launched by an Israeli naval vessel.<\/p>\n An anonymous Lebanese security source told<\/a> AFP that the strike had hit an apartment building where leaders of Hezbollah\u2019s Radwan Force commando unit had been meeting. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz subsequently issued a joint statement<\/a> saying that they had approved the attack, which \u201ctargeted the commander of the Hezbollah terrorist organization\u2019s Radwan Force in order to eliminate him,\u201d because \u201cRadwan terrorists led by him are responsible for fire directed at Israeli communities and attacks against IDF soldiers.\u201d<\/p>\n Israeli Channel 11 News soon reported<\/a> that the strike had successfully eliminated \u201cMalek Ballout,\u201d and, citing an unnamed Israeli official, claimed it had been \u201cconducted surgically as part of the Israeli government\u2019s policy of thwarting emerging threats\u201d and in coordination with the United States. The official also alleged that the Hezbollah \u201cheadquarters\u201d that was struck had \u201cissued instructions for ceasefire violations targeting and harming [Israeli] forces and communities.\u201d AFP, citing an anonymous \u201csource close to [Hezbollah],\u201d confirmed<\/a> that \u201cMalek Ballout\u201d was killed in the strike, describing him as the \u201coperations commander in the Radwan Force,\u201d rather than the unit\u2019s overall commander.<\/p>\n The next day, the IDF confirmed it had targeted and killed Ballout but gave his name as Ahmad Ghaleb Ballout, rather than Malek Ballout, which is apparently his nom de guerre<\/a>. The terse statement described Ballout as the Radwan Force\u2019s commander and said he had held several positions within the unit over the years. \u201cAs part of his roles, he was responsible for the unit\u2019s battle-readiness and preparation for combat against IDF forces and the State of Israel,\u201d the statement said. It continued:<\/p>\n During the war, and especially throughout the recent period, Ghaleb Ballout directed the terrorists of the \u201cRadwan Force\u201d and directed dozens of terror attack plans against IDF forces in south Lebanon, including anti-tank missile fire and the activation of explosive charges.<\/p>\n In addition, Ghaleb Ballout advanced efforts to restore the capabilities of the \u201cRadwan Force\u201d unit, and in particular the implementation of the \u201cPlan to Conquer the Galilee,\u201d which the unit had laid down and developed for years.<\/p>\n Hezbollah has not officially confirmed Ballout\u2019s death or role in its organizational hierarchy. Besides the information contained in the IDF\u2019s statement, which could not be independently corroborated, no additional biographical information could be found on him or his career in Hezbollah. In addition, no known picture of Ballout is available in open-source materials, with even the IDF\u2019s brief biography of him containing a grayed-out silhouette.<\/p>\n