Hezbollah says Israel kills top commander amid fears of Gaza war escalation

Israel and the Lebanese armed group have frequently exchanged cross-border fire over the past three months.

Israel has killed top Hezbollah commander Wissam al-Tawil in an air strike in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese armed group says.

Hezbollah on Monday announced the killing of one of its commanders for the first time in three months of cross-border clashes with Israeli forces.

Al-Tawil, also known as “Jawad”, was the deputy head of a unit in the elite Radwan force.

The Lebanese state-run National News Agency reported that the attack was carried out by an Israeli drone about 10:15am (08:15 GMT) on the road to al-Dabshah in the town of Khirbet Selm in the Bint Jbeil district and it killed two people.

There was no immediate comment from Israel.