Israel Kills 'Hezbollah Militant' by Blowing Up 'Spying Device' From Aircraft

Israel remotely detonated a spying device planted in south Lebanon, killing an alleged member of the Lebanese militant Hezbollah in the explosion, the group said on Friday.

Hezbollah Al-Manar TV said Hassan Ali Haidar was killed after army intelligence spotted a "strange device" in the village of Adloun. A jet detonated the device remotely after it was discovered, killing Haidar, it said.

The Lebanese army confirmed the incident, but said the dead man was a civilian, according to an AP report. It said Israel detonated the device "from a distance" through aircraft flying overhead. The device was planted on the militant group's telecommunications network.

The Israeli military declined to comment.

Lebanese and United Nations officials have accused Israel in the past of detonating similar devices in south Lebanon, where Hezbollah guerrillas operate. Hezbollah and Israel, bitter enemies, fought a fierce month-long war in 2006.

Bitter enemies

Lebanese officials say Israel regularly recruits spies in Lebanon and has penetrated the nation's telecommunications networks. Israel refused to comment on these allegations.

Israel is reportedly considering a "very violent war" with the Lebanon-based Hezbollah group, just days after the Gaza conflict comes to a halt.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has not specified any specific date for launching the offensive but pledged, if pressed ahead, it will be a fight on "whole new level," according to Israel's Channel Two.

The Israeli military said the Shi'ite-militant group Hezbollah is estimated to posses about 100,000 rockets and 5,000 long-range missiles across various locations in Lebanon – nearly five times Hamas' arsenal.

"Hezbollah will not conquer the Galilee [northern Israel]… and I won't let it hurt our civilians," Colonel Dan Goldfus, chief of the 769th Hiram Infantry Brigade said.

The Lebanon and Israel have been in a formal state of war since Israel was created in 1948.