Israel claims to have assassinated Hezbollah military official in strike on southern Lebanon

The Israeli military claimed Wednesday that it had assassinated a senior Hezbollah military figure in a drone strike in southern Lebanon.

A military statement said that it had targeted the town of Babliyeh in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, “eliminating the Head of Firepower of the Zahrani sector in Hezbollah's Badr Unit, Hussein Ali Muzhir.”

The army claimed that Muzhir “had been involved in coordinating rocket fire toward Israeli territory and had recently worked to rebuild Hezbollah's artillery capabilities in southern Lebanon.”

Hezbollah has not yet commented on the Israeli claim.

Lebanon's Health Ministry confirmed that one person was killed in the Babliyeh drone strike on Tuesday.

Cross-border warfare between Israel and the Hezbollah group in Lebanon escalated into a full-scale war last September. Despite a November ceasefire, Israeli forces have carried out near-daily attacks in southern Lebanon, claiming to target Hezbollah activities.

Since then, Lebanese authorities have reported nearly 3,000 Israeli violations of the truce, including the deaths of at least 236 people and injuries to more than 540.

Under the ceasefire deal, Israel was supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by Jan. 26, but the deadline was extended to Feb. 18 after Tel Aviv refused to comply.

Even now, Israel still maintains a military presence at five border outposts.