Beirut, June 22 (IANS): A leader from the Islamic Group was killed on Saturday in an Israeli airstrike targeting a vehicle in the village of Al-Khyara, located in the Western Bekaa district of Lebanon, a Lebanese military source told Xinhua news agency.

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said an Israeli drone fired two air-to-surface missiles at a Cherokee SUV in Khyara, killing Ayman Hashem Ghazme, a field leader of the Islamic Group who was driving the car.

The source added that members of the Civil Defense had put out the fire in the car and worked with the Lebanese Red Cross to transport the body to a hospital in the Bekaa region, Xinhua news agency reported.

Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on October 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas' attack on Israel the day before. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.