The Israeli army claimed on Tuesday to have assassinated a top Hezbollah official in an air strike in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
A military statement said that Reda Khazai was killed in the strike that targeted Beirut on Monday.
The army claimed that Khazai was responsible for Hezbollah’s “military buildup” and coordination with Iran, as well as rebuilding the group’s military capabilities following the Israeli war on Lebanon in 2024.
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah on the Israeli claim.
At least 52 people were killed and over 150 others injured in a series of Israeli air strikes targeting Beirut’s southern suburbs and southern Lebanon on Monday.
The Israeli army also started a ground incursion into the country’s south early on Tuesday.
The escalation follows a Hezbollah attack on a military site in northern Israel.
The group said the attack was in retaliation for ongoing Israeli attacks on Lebanon and a joint assault with the US on Iran.
Israel has repeatedly violated a November 2024 ceasefire agreement with Hezbollah by carrying out near-daily strikes that have left hundreds dead and wounded.
Israel began its offensive against Lebanon in October 2023 and escalated it into a full-scale war in September 2024, killing more than 4,000 people and wounding around 17,000.
