The Israeli Air Force killed a senior militant of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) movement on Wednesday near the Syria-Lebanon border, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

The militant, identified as Faris Qasim, was killed in a drone strike along with other PIJ fighters reportedly on their way from Syria to carry out an attack on behalf of Hezbollah, the IDF said.

Qasim, a "significant" operative in the PIJ's Operations Division, was responsible for developing the movement's operational plans in Syria and Lebanon and played "a central role" in recruiting Palestinians into Hezbollah, it said.

He was also responsible for carrying out attacks from Lebanon against Israel, it said.

The IDF accused Iran of "directing and funding" the recruitment of Palestinian operatives into Hezbollah to launch attacks against Israel from Lebanese territory.

Meanwhile, according to a report by Palestinian news agency Quds News, at least four people were killed in the airstrike targeting a vehicle on the Beirut-Damascus Highway near the town of Zabadani in Syria's Rif Dimashq Governorate.

The Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, allied with Iran, has been trading fire with Israel along the Israel-Lebanon border since the onset of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in October 2023.

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