Israel eliminates Al-Radwan special forces commander

The Israeli military eliminated Abu Khalil Bourji, commander of the special forces of Hezbollah's elite Al-Radwan Unit, along with two other fighters, in a precision airstrike on Majdel Selm in South Lebanon on Saturday.

Bourji was responsible for planning and executing operations targeting Israeli forces, making him one of the most operationally significant Hezbollah commanders eliminated in recent weeks.

The Al-Radwan Unit is Hezbollah's most elite and feared military formation, the Islamic Republic's answer to a special forces commando unit, named after a senior Hezbollah commander killed in 2008.

Created and trained with direct IRGC oversight, Al-Radwan is not a conventional fighting force. It is a precision strike and deep infiltration unit, specifically designed to conduct complex, including the capture of soldiers, the assassination of senior officers and the seizure of communities in northern Israel.

Al-Radwan fighters are among Hezbollah's most highly trained operatives, selected for physical capability, ideological commitment and tactical sophistication. They are equipped with advanced anti-tank weapons, night vision equipment and communications systems far more sophisticated than standard Hezbollah infantry units.

The unit gained international notoriety for its role in the 2006 Lebanon War, where its fighters conducted some of the most tactically complex operations against IDF forces. Since then, it has been continuously expanded, retrained and re-equipped, with the IRGC investing heavily in its capabilities following the 2024 ceasefire, according to intelligence assessments.

Al-Radwan was also central to Hezbollah's planned ground infiltration of northern Israel, a scenario that Israeli intelligence has long identified as one of its most serious security threats.

As commander of Al-Radwan's special forces, Bourji occupied one of the most operationally sensitive positions within Hezbollah's entire military structure. His role was not administrative, it was directly operational, involving the planning and execution of attacks against Israeli military targets.

His elimination follows a pattern of Israel systematically targeting Al-Radwan's command structure , degrading the unit's ability to plan, coordinate and execute the complex operations it was specifically designed to carry out.