JERUSALEM

Israel killed the Lebanese group Hezbollah’s media relations chief in an airstrike on the headquarters of the Ba'ath Party in the capital Beirut, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) reported Sunday.

"Israel has assassinated Mohamed Afif,” KAN said on X.

It said "Afif had been involved in directing operations against Israel and other decisions."

Earlier, an Israeli airstrike targeted a building in the Ras al-Nabaa area of Beirut, killing one person and injuring three others, according to the Lebanese Ministry of Health.

While Hezbollah has so far not issued an official statement on the matter, its affiliated television channel, Al-Manar, mourned Afif, noting that he had served as the media relations official for the group since 2014, after years of holding the position of advisor to Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed on Sept. 27 this year in an Israeli airstrike.

Israel launched an air campaign in Lebanon against what it claims are targets of the Hezbollah group in late September, in an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare over Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip.

More than 3,400 people have been killed, over 14,600 injured and more than 1 million displaced by Israeli attacks since last October, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Despite international warnings that the Middle East region is on the brink of a regional war, Israel expanded the conflict by launching a ground assault into southern Lebanon on Oct. 1 this year.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala