Two Hezbollah operatives were killed within an hour of each other in separate Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces said.

The first strike in the town of Deir Aames killed Ali Issa, who served as Hezbollah’s local representative in the nearby town of Kafra, according to the IDF. As part of his role, the military said, Issa was responsible for liaising between the Iran-backed terror group and local residents “on economic and military matters.”

“The terrorist acted to seize private property for the organization’s military needs, such as renting homes for storing weapons and conducting surveillance,” said the IDF.

The second strike hit a Hezbollah operative who was operating an excavator between the southern towns of Yater and Zinqin, said the military, adding that “the terrorist was struck while attempting to restore Hezbollah terror infrastructure.”

The IDF said both operatives’ activities “constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”

Under the November 27 Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, the Lebanese military was to take over southern Lebanon and dismantle the terror group’s infrastructure there.

Tuesday’s attacks follow an Israeli strike the day before that killed a man who was previously wounded and lost his sight when Israel blew up hundreds of pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah members last year. The man, Hassan Atwi, was a key Hezbollah air defense operative and was killed alongside his wife, Zainab Raslan, according to the IDF.

Hezbollah, which was severely weakened by the war with Israel, faces a push to give up its arsenal.

Under intense US and Israeli pressure, Lebanon’s government is seeking to disarm Hezbollah, and the Lebanese army has drawn up a plan to do so beginning in the country’s south.

The fighting began when Hezbollah, unprovoked, started launching near-daily attacks on northern Israel starting October 8, 2023 — a day after fellow Iran-backed group Hamas stormed southern Israel, sparking the Gaza war.

Hezbollah’s attacks displaced some 60,000 residents of northern Israel. In a bid to ensure their return home, Israel stepped up operations against Hezbollah in September 2024, decimating the terror group’s leadership and launching a ground invasion of Lebanon. Israel has since withdrawn from all but five strategic points in Lebanon and carried out numerous strikes against targets it accuses of violating the agreement.

Agencies and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.