70 Hezbollah fighters, 3 commanders killed by Israel in 48 hours

Death of Safieddine, potential leader of militant group, in earlier strike also confirmed

TEL AVIV/JERUSALEM/CAIRO - Israel's military said on Oct 23 that it had killed three Hezbollah commanders and about 70 fighters in southern Lebanon in the preceding 48 hours, a day after confirming it had killed Hashem Safieddine, who was viewed as a potential leader of the militant group.

"In southern Lebanon, IDF (Israel Defence Force) troops continue conducting limited, localized, targeted raids against Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure and operatives," the IDF said in a statement. "Over the past day, the troops eliminated approximately 70 terrorists in ground and aerial strikes."

Israel expanded its evacuation warnings to several central neighborhoods in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre on Oct 23, ordering people to evacuate north out of the city.

Israel has been carrying out an escalating offensive in Lebanon after a year of border clashes with Hezbollah, the most formidably armed of Iran's proxy forces across the Middle East.

Israel's offensive has driven at least 1.2 million Lebanese from their homes and killed 2,530 people, including at least 63 over the previous 24 hours, the Lebanese government said on Oct 22.

On Oct 22, the IDF said it had confirmed the killing of Safieddine, the heir apparent to Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli attack in September.