Hezbollah did not immediately confirm the claim of Akil's killing, which came as a flurry of tit-for-tat bombardments between the enemies raised fears of a full-out war erupting in the Middle East.

The Israeli military said it carried out a "targeted strike" in Beirut on Friday, without offering details. "The IDF (Israeli military) conducted a targeted strike in Beirut," it said in a statement. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Israel’s military targeted a senior Hezbollah commander in an airstrike in a Beirut suburb Friday, Israeli officials said, escalating a days-long assault on the group’s communications and logistics infrastructure and shocking an already traumatized nation fearful of an all-out war.