Wissam al-Tawil ( ar, وسام الطويل; 1970 or 1976 – 8 January 2024), also known as Wissam Tawil or Jawad al-Tawil (Arabic: ), was a Lebanese militant and senior 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 Radwan Force. After joining Hezbollah in 1989, he participated in some of the group's biggest military engagements, including the

2006 Hezbollah cross-border raid The 2006 Hezbollah cross-border raid was a cross-border attack carried out by Lebanon-based Hezbollah militants on an Israeli military patrol on 12 July 2006 on Israeli territory. Using rockets fired on several Israeli towns as a diversion, H ...

that sparked the

2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

. During the Syrian Civil War, Tawil led the group's coordination with the Syrian Arab Army and was a close aide of Mustafa Badreddine, Hezbollah's chief commander in Syria. Tawil also maintained close ties with

Imad Mughniyeh Imad Fayez Mughniyeh ( ar, عماد فايز مغنية; 7 December 1962 – 12 February 2008), alias al-Hajj Radwan (), was the founding member of Lebanon's Islamic Jihad Organization and number two in Hezbollah's leadership. Information about ...

and

Qassem Soleimani Qasem Soleimani ( fa, قاسم سلیمانی, ; 11 March 19573January 2020) was an Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). From 1998 until his assassination in 2020, he was the commander of the Quds F ...

of Iran's Quds Force.

Military career

Born in Tyre, Lebanon, 1970 or 1976, al-Tawil joined Hezbollah in 1989 and actively engaged in numerous attacks against Israeli forces and their Lebanese allies during the South Lebanon conflict. He was a member of a special Hezbollah unit that crossed into Israel during the

that led to the capture of two Israeli soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser and sparked the monthslong

. During his years with Hezbollah, Tawil was close with the group's founding military chief

, until the latter's death in 2008. He also had close links with

, head of Iran's Quds Force. When Hezbollah joined fighting in the Syrian civil war in 2013, al-Tawil was in charge of coordinating between Hezbollah and the Syrian Arab Army in fighting against the

Islamic State An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

and in supporting the Syrian government led by

Bashar al-Assad Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...

as a close aide to Mustafa Badreddine, Hezbollah's chief commander in Syria. He also participated in the Houthi takeover in Yemen, facilitating the transfer of long-range missiles to the

movement Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

. At the time of his death, he held the position of deputy commander within Hezbollah's elite Radwan Unit. According to Israel, he was responsible for the strike on Israel's air force base 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 ...

, which occurred two days before his assassination.

Death

On 8 January 2024, al-Tawil was killed by an Israeli airstrike against a vehicle in the village of

Majdel Selm Majdal Selem, or Mejdel Islim and Majdal Zun, ( ar, مجدل سلم) is a village the Marjeyoun District in Southern Lebanon. Name According to E. H. Palmer, the name ''Mejdel Islim'' means ''Islim’s watch-tower'', p.n. Majdel Selem means F ...

in Lebanon. Another person was also killed in the airstrike. According to a security official, his killing was a "painful blow" to Hezbollah. At the time of his death, he was the highest ranking Hezbollah official killed during the Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present). According to some Arab media outlets, he was reportedly the brother-in-law of

Hassan Nasrallah Hassan Nasrallah ( ar, حسن نصر الله ; born 31 August 1960) is a Lebanese cleric and political leader who has served as the 3rd secretary-general of Hezbollah since his predecessor, Abbas al-Musawi, was assassinated by the Israel Def ...

, the

secretary-general of Hezbollah This article lists the Secretaries-General 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 Secret ...

. In response to al-Tawil's killing, Hezbollah launched a drone attack on 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 the following day, situated approximately from the border.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tawil, Wissam 1970 births 2024 deaths Assassinated Hezbollah members Assassinations in Lebanon Deaths by Israeli airstrikes Hezbollah members Military personnel killed in the Israel–Hamas war People from Tyre, Lebanon Targeted killing by Israel