Ali Hussein Barji
Native name
علي حسين برجي
Allegiance Hezbollah
Battles/wars

Ali Hussein Barji (Arabic: علي حسين برجي) is a Lebanese militant and the commander of Hezbollah's aerial forces in southern Lebanon. Israel claimed that he was assassinated in Khirbet Selm, Lebanon, by an Israeli airstrike amid the 2023-24 Israel–Hezbollah conflict,[1] although Hezbollah denied the claim.

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 2023-24 Israel–Hezbollah conflict. Notably, he orchestrated a strike on an Israeli airbase in Mount Meron on 6 January 2024, and targeted Israel's Northern Command headquarters in Safed on 9 January 2024.[2][3]

Alleged death

On 9 January 2024, he was reported killed in an Israeli airstrike while attending the funeral of Wissam al-Tawil, another Hezbollah fighter who had been assassinated the previous day. Israel stated that his assassination was a response to the drone attack in Safed that had occurred earlier that day.[4][3] However, hours after the claim, Hezbollah denied that Barji was killed.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Fabian, Emanuel (9 January 2024). "Hezbollah drone chief behind attacks on north killed in alleged Israeli strike". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  2. ↑ "After the killing of Wissam Al-Tawil: Ali Hussein Burji, commander of Hezbollah's drone unit, was killed in an air strike in southern Lebanon" (in Arabic). i24 News. 9 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  3. 1 2 "IDF kills senior Hezbollah commander in southern Lebanon". i24 News. 9 January 2024. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  4. ↑ Beaumont, Peter (9 January 2024). "Hezbollah drone strike hits key Israeli military command centre". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  5. ↑ "Lebanon's Hezbollah denies Israel's claim for killing senior Hezbollah commander". Reuters. 9 January 2023.
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