Beirut, Lebanon

The Israeli military on Monday (Apr 8) launched a strike on southern Lebanon and killed a senior field commander of the Hezbollah group.

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This comes after the United Nations warned that the artillery bombardment was outspreading, further calling for the warring sides to halt the violence.

The Israeli military and Hezbollah have been engaged in an exchange of fire across Lebanon's southern frontier parallelly along with the ongoing war in Gaza which has raised fears of an escalation of the conflict across the Middle East.

The Israeli fighter jets struck the village of al-Sultaniyah and killed a field commander in Hezbollah's elite Radwan units along with two other people, said the Israeli army and two Lebanese security sources in a statement.

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Also read: Israel's withdrawal from south Gaza not indicative of new operations, says US

Deceased Hezbollah field commander was involved in planning attacks against Israelis, say IDF

The Israeli troops said that the Hezbollah field commander, identified as Ali Ahmed Hassin, was responsible for planning and executing attacks against Israelis.

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“As part of his role, he was responsible for the planning and execution of terror attacks in the Ramim Ridge area against the Israeli home front,” said the IDF as per The Times Of Israel.

Hezbollah issued a funeral notice for Hassin, but did not share details about his role.

The Lebanese militant group said that Hassin was killed “on the road to Jerusalem.” This is a term that they use for the fighters that are killed in Israeli strikes.  

Since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out, Israeli strikes have killed nearly 270 Hezbollah fighters, and around 50 civilians, including children, journalists and medics.

United Nations' Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka and the commander of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, Aroldo Lazaro released a joint statement on Monday stating that the violence must be halted.

"The unrelenting cycle of strikes and counterstrikes in breach of the cessation of hostilities constitute the most serious violation of Security Council Resolution 1701 since its adoption in 2006," they said.  

(With inputs from agencies)