Mr. Hashem Safieddinem - who is expected to succeed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. (Source: Reuters)

However, Hezbollah did not disclose the specific time and location of the incident. The announcement came a day after Israel announced that it had killed Mr. Safieddine and several other Hezbollah leaders in an airstrike targeting the southern area of ​​the capital Beirut three weeks ago.

The Iran-backed group issued a statement expressing its sorrow over the incident and said Mr Safieddine was killed along with other Hezbollah fighters in a “criminal and aggressive Zionist attack”.

Safieddine, a cleric related to Nasrallah and known to be devout, was once considered the most likely candidate to take over Hezbollah's top leadership position after Nasrallah's death in a massive Israeli airstrike south of Beirut on September 27.

In a related development, Hezbollah's combat group on October 23 used "precision missiles" and new types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the first time in clashes with the Israeli army.

Hezbollah claims to have been able to repel Israeli troops in clashes in several border villages in southern Lebanon.

In the statement, Hezbollah also said it had killed 70 Israeli soldiers but did not specify a time period. Meanwhile, Israel has admitted to losing about 20 soldiers inside Lebanon since launching ground operations, and about 30 more in Hezbollah raids in northern Israel.