Israel says kills a Hezbollah rocket unit leader in Lebanon

Beirut. An Israeli strike on Friday in south Lebanon killed the deputy head of Hezbollah's rocket unit, the Israeli military said, the latest deadly cross-border violence since the Israel-Hamas war erupted.

Hezbollah, which has a powerful arsenal of rockets and missiles, has exchanged near-daily fire with the Israeli army since its ally, Palestinian militant group Hamas, carried out an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, triggering war in Gaza.

The hostilities have raised fears of all-out conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which fought a war in 2006.

Lebanon's state-run National News Agency (NNA) said "a raid by an enemy drone targeted a car" in Bazuriyeh in south Lebanon's Tyre district, leaving at least one person dead.

A Lebanese military source, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media, said the person killed was "a Hezbollah official".

The Israeli army said the Bazuriyeh strike killed the deputy head of Hezbollah's rocket unit, identifying him as Ali Abdel Hassan Naim, "one of the leaders for heavy-warhead rocket fire and responsible for conducting and planning attacks against Israeli civilians".

Hezbollah in separate statements said seven of its fighters, including one it identified as Naim, had been killed by Israeli fire, without specifying where or when they died.

Six Hezbollah fighters were killed by an Israeli strike in Syria on Friday, a British-based war monitor said earlier.

An AFP correspondent reported the vehicle targeted in Bazuriyeh was destroyed and debris scattered nearby.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah says it is acting in support of Hamas with its attacks. Israel has targeted Hezbollah and Hamas officials inside Lebanon in response.

Recent days have seen an uptick in deadly hostilities, and the White House on Thursday called on Israel and Lebanon to put a high priority on restoring calm.

The United Nations said this week it was "deeply disturbed" by attacks on health care facilities, after several strikes blamed on Israel killed rescue workers in southern Lebanon.

Cross-border fire since October has killed at least 347 people in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters, but also including at least 68 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

The fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people in southern Lebanon and in northern Israel, where the military says 10 soldiers and eight civilians have been killed.