Netanyahu has faced months of mass protests over his handling of the hostage crisis unleashed by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel, which ignited the ongoing war in Gaza.

Afif for years had been responsible for Hezbollah’s media relations, and provided information to local and foreign journalists under the cover of anonymity

An Israeli strike on a densely populated district of Beirut on Sunday killed Hezbollah's media relations chief Mohammad Afif, two Lebanese security sources told Reuters. The strike hit a neighborhood where many people displaced from Beirut's southern suburbs had been seeking refuge.