Tel Aviv, Israel:

Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah movement said it carried out drone strikes on two bases in northern Israel on Tuesday in retaliation for the killing of a fighter Israel described as “important”.

Since the war in Gaza began with Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7, cross-border firefights between Hezbollah and the Israeli army have taken place almost daily.

But Hezbollah has stepped up its rocket attacks on Israeli positions in recent days, with recent attacks targeting areas outside the border area the group usually attacks.

Hezbollah launched a “combined air strike using decoy and explosive drones” targeting two Israeli bases north of Acre, the group announced in a statement, while Israel said they had not hit their targets.

The Lebanese group added that the attack was “in response” to an Israeli drone strike that killed one of its members in southern Lebanon earlier in the day.

Israel’s army said it had “successfully intercepted two suspected aerial targets in the northern Bank”.

On Tuesday morning, a source close to Hezbollah told AFP that an Israeli drone strike deep in Lebanon killed an engineer working for the group’s air defense forces as he was traveling in a vehicle.

An AFP reporter reported that the strike took place in the Abu al-Aswad area near the coastal city of Tyre, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) from the border.

The fighter’s vehicle was completely gutted.

Hezbollah said one of its fighters was killed by Israeli fire, adding that he was a resident of the area where the vehicle was struck.

The group also said another fighter had been killed in an overnight statement by Israel.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Israeli army said it had killed “two important terrorists in Hezbollah’s air unit” on Tuesday morning and overnight.

The fighter killed on Tuesday was “heavily involved in the planning and execution of terrorist attacks against Israel,” it added.

Both sides said Hezbollah shot down an Israeli drone on Sunday evening.

Since October 7, at least 378 people have been killed in Lebanon, mostly Hezbollah fighters but also 70 civilians, according to AFP figures.

Israel says 11 soldiers and eight civilians have been killed on its side of the border.

(Other than the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)