Mohammad Afif (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: ; 1959 – 17 November 2024) was a Lebanese spokesperson for

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

and head of its media relations department. He was a founding member of the organization and was a close companion of

Abbas al-Musawi Abbas al-Musawi ( ; ; 26 October 1952 – 16 February 1992) was a Lebanese Shia cleric who served as the second secretary-general of Hezbollah from 1991 until Assassination of Abbas al-Musawi, his assassination by Israel in 1992. Early l ...

Hezbollah activity

Muhammad Afif held the position of the first media consultant in the party, and according to the Lebanese media, he served as the media relations officer since 2014, replacing

Hassan al-Laqqis Hassan Hawlo al-Laqqis (;1970 – 4 December 2013) was Hezbollah's chief logistics officer and military commander in Lebanon. Laqqis was assassinated when two gunmen shot him four times in the head and neck inside his car from close range aroun ...

. He was also responsible for the management of Hezbollah's media coverage during the

2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War was a 34-day armed conflict in Lebanon, fought between Hezbollah and Israel. The war started on 12 July 2006, and continued until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire went into effect in the morning on 14 August 2006, thoug ...

. Afif previously managed news and political programs on Hezbollah's

Al-Manar Al-Manar () is a Lebanese satellite television station owned and operated by the Islamist political party and paramilitary group Hezbollah,

channel as well as on Al Nour Radio and the

Al-Ahed Al Ahed Football Club () is a football club based in Ouzai, a district in Beirut, Lebanon, that competes in the Lebanese Premier League, the top flight of Lebanese football. The club was founded in 1964 as Al Ahed Al Jadeed, initially startin ...

War coverage

Afif appeared as the party's spokesperson, and held press conferences live from the heart of the Da'aheh district in Beirut, and in areas affected by IDF activity in Lebanon as part of Operation Northern Arrows. He stated that Israel had not managed to capture "a single" village in Lebanon during the invasion, he also dismissed the IDF claim of a significant decline of Hezbollah's missile stockpile as "just lies". After the attack on

Majdal Shams Majdal Shams (; ) is a predominantly Druze town in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, located in the southern foothills of Mount Hermon. It is known as the informal "capital" of the region. Majdal Shams played a significant role in the Great ...

that killed 12 children, Afif said that the group was not responsible for the attack on Majdal Shams, instead stating it was caused by an Israeli

Iron Dome Iron Dome () is an Israeli mobile all-weather air defense system, developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries. The system is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired f ...

projectile launched in the course of countering Hezbollah rocket fire aiming for Israeli military sites. On 22 October 2024, he held a press conference, which he had to interrupt live due to an evacuation notice issued by the IDF for the area where the press conference was held. At that press conference, Afif accepted responsibility on behalf of Hezbollah for attacking Binyamin Netanyahu's house in Caesarea several days earlier.

Assassination

An Israeli strike on a building containing the headquarters of the Lebanese branch of the Ba'ath Party in Ras al-Nabaa neighborhood of

Beirut Central District The Beirut Central District is the historical and geographical central business district, core of Beirut, the capital of Lebanon. Also called downtown Beirut, it has been described as the “vibrant financial, commercial, and administrative ...

killed Afif. A total of four people were killed, all of which were members of Hezbollah's media department, and 14 others were injured.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Afif, Mohammad 1959 births 2024 deaths Assassinated Hezbollah members Hezbollah members Hezbollah founders Assassinated Lebanese people Assassinated Lebanese journalists Lebanese Shia Muslims Deaths by Israeli airstrikes Military personnel killed in the Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present)