An Israeli strike in Syria hit a vehicle and killed a former bodyguard of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, according to the militant group.
Hezbollah released a statement on the death of Yasser Nimr Qarnabsh. The Lebanese militant group did not explain his role or the circumstances of his death. Supporters mourned the death on social media.
The group also announced that it fired tens of Katyusha rockets at an Israeli military base in the Golan Heights in response. Israel police said two people, a man and a woman, were killed when their car took a direct hit.
Earlier Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a pro-opposition war monitor based in Britain, reported the Israeli strike on the car on the Damascus-Beirut highway.
Security sources said the former bodyguard had recently helped in transportation for the group as a mid-ranking official.
The group also said a Syrian driver received critical wounds.
“We do not comment on reports in the foreign media,” said an Israeli military spokesperson after the strike.
Hezbollah has been launching attacks against Israel since Hamas attacked Israel last October. Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon have killed more than 450 people since then, including over 80 civilians. In Israel, 17 soldiers and 11 civilians have been killed. Tens of thousands of people on both sides of the Lebanon-Israel border have been displaced.
