JERUSALEM/BEIRUT, March 11 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli airstrike on Tuesday killed a Hezbollah official responsible for air defense operations in southern Lebanon, the Israeli military announced.
The strike targeted Hassan Abbas Ezz al-Din, identified by Israel as the head of air defense for Hezbollah's "Badr" unit in Nabatiyeh.
Israeli authorities accused him of rebuilding the group's anti-aircraft capabilities, allegedly damaged during months of cross-border clashes, and acquiring weapons that posed "a direct threat" to Israeli aircraft.
In a separate statement, the Israeli military claimed another strike targeted "militants" near a Hezbollah-linked site in Wadi Froun, southern Lebanon.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency confirmed one fatality in a car strike in Wadi Froun, with social media footage showing a vehicle engulfed in flames. The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health's Emergency Operations Center verified the death, attributing it to an "Israeli enemy strike." ■
