The prospect of regional escalation in the Middle East is looming large today after a senior Hezbollah military commander was killed in an apparent Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon. 

Wissam Hassan al Tawil was reportedly driving in an area six kilometres from the border when his car was targeted, swerved off the road and burst into flames. Israel is yet to claim responsibility for the drone attack.

While some 130 Hezbollah fighters have already been killed in the three months of low-intensity fighting along the Israel-Lebanon border that began on 8 October, this is a significant development. Tawil, who played a key role in leading the elite Radwan forces in Southern Lebanon, is the most senior Hezbollah figure yet to be declared dead.