Hezbollah did not immediately confirm the death of Ibrahim Aqeel. The United States had accused him of being involved in bombings that killed more than 200 U.S. Marines and many others in Beirut in 1983.

The Israeli attack followed others on Hezbollah rocket launchers and infrastructure in southern Lebanon, after Hezbollah vowed to retaliate for detonations of pagers and radios.

Amid fears of an expanding war in the Middle East following mass detonations of bombs surreptitiously planted in Hezbollah communication devices, Israel continued its assault of the Iran-backed militia overnight.

The airstrike follows a deadly week of attacks that have intensified nearly a year of fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah.

Thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by the Hezbollah militant group exploded earlier this week, killing dozens and injuring thousands of others.

Israeli forces late Thursday carried out their most intense strike on southern Lebanon in nearly one year of war, increasing tensions between the two countries despite international calls for calm. In the operation,