A Hezbollah commander responsible for missile fire on northern Israel was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The army said Hassan Fars Jashi, who commanded an anti-tank missile unit, was killed in the southern Lebanese area of Jouaiyya.
Meanwhile, Israeli jets struck Hezbollah buildings in Aitaroun, near the Israeli border.
The elimination of Jashi came one day after 19 Israelis were injured in a wave of Hezbollah drone strikes in the Western Galilee.
The threat of wider war has escalated since the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Iran blames Israel, which has not confirmed or denied responsibility.
Hezbollah has vowed revenge for a separate Israeli airstrike in Beirut which killed Fuad Shukr. He was responsible for a deadly rocket attack on Majdal Shams, which killed 12 children in the Druze village. A member of Hezbollah’s Jihad Council, the terror group’s highest decision-making body on military affairs, Shukr was regarded as Hezbollah’s “Defense Minister” and right-hand man to Hezbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah.
In a public speech on Tuesday, Nasrallah vowed the Iran-backed terror group would avenge Shukr’s death, “regardless of the consequences.” Ahead of the speech, Israel jets flew over Beirut and created sonic booms.
Nearly 80,000 Israelis were forced to evacuate their homes near the Lebanon border when Hezbollah began launching rockets and drones in October. Hezbollah leaders have said they will continue the attacks to prevent Israelis from returning to their homes. The attacks have killed 25 civilians and 18 soldiers.
Israeli officials have been calling for Hezbollah to be disarmed and removed from southern Lebanon in accordance with UN Security Council resolution 1701, which ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War.
