A senior Hezbollah leader was killed in an Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon, according to a Lebanese security official.
Sky News was unable to independently verify these allegations, and Israel has not yet responded to them.
Security sources told Reuters news agency that the victim was deputy head of a unit within Hezbollah's Radwan Force.
They identified him as Wissam Al-Tawil, and said that he was killed with another fighter.
Sources told the agency that the deaths occurred when a car was hit in a raid on the Lebanese village of Majdal Salam.
Sky News correspondent in the Middle East, Alastair Boncal, said that the commander belongs to the Radwan Force – and the strike comes at a time when the US Secretary of State coincided with… Antony Blinken heads to Israel for talks.
He said: “It is clear that the Israelis are deliberately trying to send a message to Hezbollah, by targeting this leader from this unit, that they are not in the mood to tamper with the border.
“Whether or not Hezbollah listens to that and decides to back down, otherwise the opposite could happen and things could get heated.
“Right now, with the current tensions, things are likely to get heated.”
Mr. Blinken returned to the region as part of efforts to prevent the conflict from spreading.
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The United States, which provided crucial military and diplomatic support for the attack, called on Israel to take greater measures to spare civilians.
However, it also joined in rejecting international calls for a ceasefire.
Tens of thousands of people have taken refuge in Gaza's hospitals, which are also struggling to treat dozens of people injured every day in Israeli raids.
According to the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs, only 13 out of 36 hospitals in Gaza are partially functioning.
