Israeli strike kills Hezbollah commander in Lebanon: Security official

Israel killed a top commander of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in a strike on south Lebanon, a security source told AFP on Monday (Jan 8),

Israel killed a top commander of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in a strike on south Lebanon, a security source told AFP on Monday (Jan 8), adding to fears the conflict in Gaza could spread.

Hezbollah later announced the killing of a "commander" for the first time, naming him as Wissam Hassan Tawil. It said he died "on the road to Jerusalem" - the phrase used for fighters killed by Israel.

Tawil "had a leading role in managing Hezbollah's operations in the south", the security official said, requesting anonymity for security reasons.

The official added that the commander, who held several other top positions in the group, "was killed in an Israeli strike targeting his car in the south".

Tawil was the highest-ranking Hezbollah member to be killed since the group and Israel began exchanging near-daily cross-border fire after the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct 7.