Jerusalem/Beirut, May 22 (UNI) Israel's military said it carried out a drone strike in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, killing a Hezbollah operative involved in the group's weapons development program.

The man, identified as Hussein Nazih Barji, was struck while traveling in a vehicle in the Tyre area, according to a military statement accompanied by surveillance footage.

Barji was described as "a central figure" in a directorate of Hezbollah that oversees the development, manufacture, and maintenance of weapons, including precision missiles, and works to expand the group's supply capabilities.

The military said Barji was "a veteran engineer responsible for building infrastructure for the production of precision surface-to-surface missiles." His killing was intended to "disrupt Hezbollah's recovery efforts," it added.

Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee said on social media platform X that "Barji's activities represented a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) will continue to act to eliminate any threat to the State of Israel."

The Lebanese Health Ministry confirmed the attack, saying that a "hostile" drone targeted a car on the Housh-Ain Baal road in the Tyre district, killing one person from the town of Ramadiyah.

Meanwhile, Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported another death from an Israeli drone strike on Wednesday on the village of Yater.

The incidents were the latest in a series of Israeli attacks despite a ceasefire reached in November 2024 that ended 14 months of cross-border fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

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