As the onslaught continued, there was also growing evidence that Israel may have killed the man tipped to succeed assassinated Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Three Lebanese security sources told Reuters that Hashen Safieddine had been unreachable since he was reportedly targeted in an Israeli strike on Friday.

Ronen Solomon, an Israeli intelligence and defence analyst who has worked for over a decade in the ministry of defence, said the hit on Safieddine, who was serving as part of the group’s executive council which oversees the military operations and civilian structure, paves the way for more to come.

“Safieddine is well-known as number two in the pyramid. But now his deputy, Sheikh Ali Damoush, the commander of the foreign relations unit, hasn’t been killed yet, so maybe he will be next on the black list,” he told The Telegraph.

Safieddine’s brother Abdullah oversees Quds Force and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps relations and is deeply entrenched in Iran’s political and military elite, based in Tehran. 

“Abdullah is also a possible target,” added Mr Solomon. “He is well-known as the head of the business unit of Hezbollah, connected to the external relationship unit and is the connection man between Iran and Hezbollah.”