Ali Hussein Barji ( ar, علي حسين برجي; alleged death on 9 January 2024) was a Lebanese militant and the commander of

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

's aerial forces in southern

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

. He was killed by an

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i airstrike in

Khirbet Selm Kherbet Selm ( ar, خربة سلم) is a village in southern Lebanon. The municipality of Khirbet Selm is located in the Kaza of Bent Jbayl, one of the eight mohafazats (governorates) of Lebanon. Khirbet Selm is 104 kilometers (64.6256 mi) ...

, Lebanon, during the Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present),

Military career

Barji played a key role in the development of Hezbollah's suicide drone system. During the Syrian civil war, he was one of the highest-ranking Hezbollah officials engaged in combat in the Idlib region. Barji orchestrated numerous drone attacks on Israeli forces during the Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present). Notably, he orchestrated a strike on an Israeli airbase in

Mount Meron Mount Meron ( he, הַר מֵירוֹן, ''Har Meron''; ar, جبل الجرمق, ''Jabal al-Jarmaq'') is a mountain in the Upper Galilee region of Israel. It has special significance in Jewish religious tradition and parts of it have been decla ...

on 6 January 2024, and targeted Israel's Northern Command headquarters in

Safed Safed (known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation, Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), i ...

on 9 January 2024.

Death

On 9 January 2024, he was killed in an Israeli airstrike while attending the funeral of Wissam al-Tawil, another Hezbollah senior commander who had been killed the previous day. Israel stated that his killing was a response to the drone attack in Safed that had occurred earlier that day.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barji, Ali Hussein Year of birth missing 2024 deaths Hezbollah members Lebanese Shia Muslims Military personnel killed in the Israel–Hamas war