Israel's army said on Saturday it killed a key operative in Hezbollah's Aerial Defense Unit in eastern Lebanon, accusing him of carrying out numerous attacks against Israelis.

In a statement, the army identified the Hezbollah member as Meitham Mustafa Altaar, saying that he had visited Iran several times, "where he gained knowledge and assisted in building up Hezbollah's force and arsenal of Iranian weapons."

Lebanese state media said Altaar's car was attacked in a drone strike in the town of Shaath, north of Lebanon's eastern city of Baalbek.

Hezbollah confirmed the killing of the 33-year-old but did not specify his role in the movement.

The Iran-backed group and Israel have been trading fire for nearly nine months in hostilities that have played out in parallel to the Gaza conflict, raising fears of an all-out war between the heavily armed adversaries.

Hezbollah has said its campaign of rocket and drone attacks on northern Israel has aimed to support Palestinians under Israeli bombardment in Gaza.