Israeli military and Lebanon’s Hezbollah engaged in a firefight, resulting in the launch of two attack drones towards northern Israel and the death of a key Hezbollah commander in an airstrike.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) confirmed that the two drones, carrying explosives, struck areas close to the northern community of Beit Hillel.

Hezbollah claimed responsibility for targeting an Iron Dome battery in the region, though the IDF dismissed these claims as unsubstantiated, as they have done with similar assertions in the past.

The IDF is currently investigating why sirens did not sound to warn of the attack.

Videos circulated on social media appear to show one of the drones flying over the Galilee Panhandle during the exchange of fire.

Following the drone attack, Lebanese media quickly reported a casualty resulting from an Israeli drone strike on a vehicle in Ain Baal, a town near Tyre, approximately 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the Israeli border.

The IDF later confirmed their responsibility for the strike, stating that their target was the commander of Hezbollah’s coastal region, whom they successfully eliminated.

Israel and Iran, Hezbollah’s backer, have been on a collision course throughout Israel’s six-month war against Hamas militants in Gaza.

The war erupted after two militant groups backed by Iran led an attack on October 7 that killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others.

An Israeli offensive in Gaza has caused widespread devastation and killed over 33,000 people, according to local health officials.