Beirut, Jul 18 (IANS): A military official of Lebanon's Hezbollah was killed on Thursday in an Israeli airstrike in Jibal al-Butm in southwest Lebanon, Lebanese military sources told Xinhua news agency.

The sources, who spoke anonymously, said that an Israeli drone fired three air-to-surface missiles at a car that was traveling in the mountains of Jibal al-Butm between the towns of Seddiqine and Zibqine in southwest Lebanon.

The attack resulted in the death of the driver, Hassan Mouhanna, a local military official involved in military operations in the western part of the border region in southern Lebanon.

On Thursday, Israeli drones and warplanes launched seven airstrikes on five villages and towns in the border region of southern Lebanon, including a raid targeting the Jezzine region, deep in southern Lebanon, according to military sources.

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