Israel carried out a strike in southern Lebanon, resulting in the death of a high-ranking commander from the Iran-backed Hezbollah group, as confirmed by a security source Monday.

The attack has heightened concerns that the conflict in Gaza may escalate.

The commander "had a leading role in managing Hezbollah's operations in the south," the security official said, requesting anonymity over security concerns.

The official added that he "was killed in an Israeli strike targeting his car in the south."

The commander held several other top positions in the Shiite movement, the official said.

Hezbollah and its longstanding adversary, Israel, have engaged in almost daily exchanges of fire along the border since the outbreak of the recent Israel-Palestine conflict on Oct. 7.

But the killing of Hamas's deputy leader in Beirut last week has raised fears of a wider conflagration.

Saleh al-Aruri, who was killed in a missile strike widely attributed to Israel, was the most high-profile Hamas figure to die during the war, in the first attack on Beirut since fighting began.

On Saturday, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell met a Hezbollah political official in Beirut as part of a push to avoid Lebanon being dragged into the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Nearly three months of cross-border fire have killed more than 180 people in Lebanon, including over 135 Hezbollah fighters and more than 20 civilians, including three journalists, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) tally.

In northern Israel, nine soldiers and at least four civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities.