Wissam al-Tawil

Wissam al-Tawil (; 1970 – 8 January 2024), also known as Jawad al-Tawil (Arabic: ), was a Lebanese militant and senior commander of Hezbollah'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 that sparked the 2006 Lebanon War. During the Syrian Civil War, Tawil led the group's coordination with the Syrian Army and was a close aide of Mustafa Badreddine, Hezbollah's chief commander in Syria. Tawil also maintained close ties with Imad Mughniyeh and Qasem Soleimani, the former head of Iran's IRGC Quds Force.

Early life and military career Born in Tyre, Lebanon in 1970, al-Tawil joined Hezbollah in 1989 and actively engaged in numerous guerrilla attacks against Israeli forces and their Lebanese allies during the South Lebanon conflict. He was a member of a Hezbollah special unit that crossed into Israel during the 2006 Hezbollah cross-border raid that led to the capture of two Israeli soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser and sparked the monthslong 2006 Lebanon War. During his years with Hezbollah, Tawil was close with the group's founding military chief Imad Mughniyeh, until the latter's assassination in 2008. He also had close links with Qasem Soleimani, head of Iran's Quds Force.

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, 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 in Lebanon. Another person was also killed in the airstrike. According to a security official, his killing was a "painful blow" to Hezbollah. According to some Arab media outlets, he was reportedly the brother-in-law of Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah.

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