Hezbollah spokesman killed in Israeli strike on Beirut
Sources tell Al Jazeera that the earlier Israeli attack on Ras al-Nabaa in central Beirut killed Mohammad Afif. Afif was Hezbollah’s top media relations officer and the point of contact for the organisation known among many journalists in Beirut.
Mohammad Afif, the Hezbollah media relations officer killed earlier in an Israeli strike, was essentially a civilian, Al Jazeera’s Dorsa Jabbari says. He was “a very well-known figure in the media landscape within Lebanon”, she said.
Jabbari said the attack on the neighbourhood of Ras al-Nabaa was carried out near the “administrative heart” of Beirut, not in its southern suburbs, where attacks usually take place. It was close to the neighbourhoods of Achrafieh and Basta, known to be Christian neighbourhoods without much Hezbollah presence, if any.
“Clearly, this is a continuation of the Israeli policy to go after not only the military wing of Hezbollah but also officials within the administrative side of the organisation,” she said.
This pattern doesn’t fit in with the narrative Israel has been selling that it is targeting only the group’s fighters. “What Israel is trying to do is diminish the group’s capabilities on all fronts: economic, social, political, military.”
Israeli targeted assassination aimed at silencing one of Hezbollah’s main media platforms
Mohammad Afif is a well-known Hezbollah official; he’s one of the main people in Hezbollah responsible for media relations. He was also an adviser to the late Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah on media affairs.
Israel has assassinated several main Hezbollah officials in the past few weeks.
Especially since the assassination of Nasrallah, we’ve been seeing Afif in different processes and also leading tours of journalists in the southern suburb. He used to be instrumental in conveying Hezbollah’s media message.
In the past, Afif was director general of al-Manar TV. He’s well-known in Lebanon among journalists.
Given the fact that he’s the media relations officer, he gets to have meetings with all these journalists coming to Lebanon. Whoever is working on Hezbollah stories, whenever there is an interview with Nasrallah, he is there.
This is another Israeli targeted assassination aimed at silencing one of Hezbollah’s main media platforms.
Lebanese civil defense teams at the site of an Israeli strike on a building Ras Beirut area in Beirut
Whoever replaces Afif will likely ‘be targeted’
Dan Perry, a former Middle East editor of The Associated Press news agency, says he is not surprised by Israel’s killing of Mohammad Afif. “I assume it was intentional,” he told Al Jazeera from Tel Aviv. “Israel’s position…is one where they have lost all patience with the very existence of Hezbollah.”
Perry added that there are two competing Israeli narratives when it comes to the war on Lebanon.
“One says, no matter what you do to us, we’re going to prevail, be steadfast. The other says, if we have to, we’ll destroy everything standing that relates to Hezbollah,” he said. “And Israel’s position I don’t think is indefensible, because Hezbollah is controlled by a foreign entity and it’s taken over part of Lebanon.
“Whoever they appoint in his place, I’m sure will be targeted again, because Israel’s position is that Hezbollah, as a non-state actor parked on its borders and attacking it, is completely illegitimate from the point of view of the world order.”
‘Communication is half of the war’
Military analyst Elijah Magnier says the killing of Mohammad Afif is part of Israel’s strategy to disrupt Hezbollah’s leadership and its ability to communicate with the world.
“Spokespersons often play key roles in writing support, shaping public opinion, disseminating propaganda or information, challenging Israel’s narrative, making Afif a significant asset in both military and psychological operations for Israel,” he told Al Jazeera. “So eliminating a very well-established and experienced spokesperson as Afif weakens Hezbollah’s capability to communicate effectively with its supporters and international audience.”
Magnier added that the killing of Afif will also undermine Hezbollah’s ability to coordinate responses that counter Israel’s war narrative, which will force other officials in the group to be more visible.
“And also, it is showing that high-profile people in Hezbollah, no matter if they are military or non-military personnel, they can be assassinated,” he said. Afif presented a challenge to local Lebanese media and criticised them for supporting Israel’s narrative.
“He was very vocal and he affected also the general audience domestically and internationally, showing that Hezbollah is still healthy, confirming that Hezbollah’s tools of communication are still there and communication is half of the war.”
