Israel announced late Tuesday that it had killed a high-ranking Hezbollah operative overseeing drone and missile operations, even as it released Lebanese prisoners in a diplomatic gesture to Lebanon’s newly elected president.
Despite a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have persisted.
Israeli authorities justify the operations as necessary to prevent the Iran-backed group from rearming or strengthening its foothold near Israel’s northern border.
In a statement, the Israeli military confirmed that the Air Force carried out a targeted strike in Nabatieh, southern Lebanon, eliminating Hassan Abbas Ezzedine, described as the leader of Hezbollah’s aerial operations in the Bader regional unit.
The military also reported a second strike on Tuesday in Froun, where multiple Hezbollah fighters were targeted at a known militant site.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency stated that two individuals were killed in the Israeli strikes, including one fatality resulting from a drone attack on a vehicle along the Deir El-Zahrani road.