Israel has reportedly assassinated Hezbollah’s head of drone operations in a second high-profile killing within 24 hours.
Ali Hussein Barji, commander of the group’s aerial forces in southern Lebanon, was killed in a strike on a car in the town of Khirbet Selm, The Times of Israel reported.
The attack was said to have taken place moments before the nearby funeral of senior Hezbollah commander Wissam Hassan al-Tawil, who was killed by an Israeli strike on Monday.
Hours before the latest attack, Hezbollah launched explosive drones at a military base in northern Israel in a revenge strike for Monday’s assassination.
Barji was believed to be responsible for Tuesday’s attack on the site in Safed, some eight miles from the Lebanese border.
Firas Maksad, a senior fellow at the Washington DC-based Middle East Institute, said his reported assassination was “another notch up the escalation ladder.”
The Israel Defense Forces has not yet commented on the strike.
Last week, Israel assassinated Saleh al-Arouri, a senior Hamas leader, in a drone strike in Beirut.
Follow the latest updates below
