The Israeli military said that it killed the head of Hezbollah's drone unit in a strike on a residential building in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Thursday.

An "Israeli strike targeted the commander of Hezbollah's drone unit, Mohammed Srur, known as Abu Saleh, whose fate is still unclear," a source said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

"Following precise intelligence guidance from the Air Force and the Intelligence Division, fighter jets targeted and eliminated (Srur), the commander of Hezbollah's air unit, in Beirut," a military statement said.

Lebanon's health ministry said two people were killed in the attack, the fourth in a week targeting Hezbollah commanders in the densely populated area, one of the group's strongholds.

"The Israeli enemy strike on Beirut's southern suburbs killed two people and wounded 15, including a woman in critical condition," a health ministry statement said, adding the toll was preliminary.

Srur studied mathematics and was among a number of top advisers sent by Hezbollah to Yemen to train the country's Houthi rebels, who are also backed by Iran, the source close to Hezbollah said.

Lebanon's official National News Agency said "three missiles" targeted "a residential apartment in a 10-storey building."

An AFP photographer said the target of the strike was close to the building where the head of Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, Ibrahim Aqil, and other commanders were killed in a strike last Friday.

Lebanon's health ministry said that the strike killed 55 people, including seven children.