Source Close To Hezbollah Says Israel Killed Local Commander In Lebanon

A source close to Hezbollah said an Israeli strike killed a local commander in the movement in south Lebanon on Tuesday, with the Iran-backed group launching rockets on Israel in retaliation

Beirut, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Apr, 2024) A source close to Hezbollah said an Israeli strike killed a local commander in the movement in south Lebanon on Tuesday, with the Iran-backed group launching rockets on Israel in retaliation.

Israel and Hamas ally Hezbollah have been exchanging near-daily cross-border fire since the Palestinian militant group attacked southern Israel on October 7, triggering war in the Gaza Strip.

Tuesday's strike came with regional tensions high after Iran launched missile and drone attacks on Israel over the weekend in retaliation for a deadly Israeli strike on Tehran's consulate in Damascus.

"The field commander in charge of the Naqura region has been martyred in an Israeli strike," the source close to Hezbollah told AFP.

The official National news Agency reported one dead in an Israeli strike on a car in Ain Baal, about 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the border.

The NNA also reported that "enemy warplanes" struck two cars in the town of Shehabiya, about 10 kilometres (six miles) from Ain Baal.

Hezbollah said it launched Katyusha rockets on a base in northern Israel's Beit Hillel "in response to the Israeli enemy's attacks" on Lebanese villages, "the latest of which was in Ain Baal".

Earlier Tuesday, Hezbollah claimed an attack on a military site in Beit Hillel using explosive drones, with local Israeli authorities saying three people were wounded.

The Israeli military said "two armed" drones entered from Lebanon and exploded near Beit Hillel.

Hezbollah had said its fighters launched an "air attack with suicide drones in two phases... striking the Iron Dome (air defence system) platforms and their crew" in the area.

On Monday, Hezbollah targeted Israeli troops with explosive devices, wounding four soldiers who crossed into Lebanese territory -- the first such attack in six months of clashes.

The violence has killed at least 365 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also including at least 70 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

In Israel, the military says 10 soldiers and eight civilians have been killed since hostilities began.

Tens of thousands of civilians have fled their homes on both sides of the border.