Israeli army says it assassinated key Hezbollah operative in southern Lebanon

By Abdelraouf Arnaout

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army said Monday that it assassinated a key operative of the Lebanese Hezbollah group.

“An Air Force aircraft executed an airstrike on Muhammad Mustafa Ayoub, a central figure in the Rocket and Missile Department of Hezbollah's Nasser Unit, in the Selaa area of southern Lebanon,” the military said in statement sent to Anadolu.

“Over the past few months, Ayoub was involved in promoting terror attacks against Israeli civilians and communities. He promoted and planned terror attacks from southern Lebanon against the State of Israel,” the statement added.

The army noted that earlier in the day, fighter jets “struck Hezbollah terror infrastructure and a military structure in the Meis el-Jabal area of southern Lebanon.”

A lull has prevailed in northern Israel since the morning hours with no rocket or drone launches from Lebanon.

This follows days of significant escalation along the Israeli-Lebanese border, prompting the arrival of US envoy Amos Hochstein to Israel on Monday.

The Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that Hochstein will travel to Lebanon on Tuesday in an attempt to defuse the escalation along the border.

Before meeting with Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid in West Jerusalem, Hochstein met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog.

Tensions have risen along Lebanon's border with Israel amid cross-border attacks between Hezbollah and Israeli forces as Tel Aviv presses ahead with its deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip, which has killed more than 37,300 people since last October following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio