Israel is attempting a risky strategy, increasing the intensity of its attacks in an attempt to force Hezbollah to back down, while raising the chances of an aggressive response that devolves into a land war.

The Hezbollah commander killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs Friday was one of the Lebanese militant group’s top military officials, in charge of its elite forces, and had been on Washington’s wanted list for years.

The strike on a suburb of Lebanon’s capital killed Ibrahim Aqil, a prominent Hezbollah leader, and other senior commanders, Israel said. The attack left 14 people dead.

Israel launched one of its most intense bombardments against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon this year Thursday, hours after the militant group’s leader condemned deadly twin attacks that he said crossed “all the red lines.

Israel has not commented on the mass attack on Hezbollah communications but multiple reports have said it was carried out by its spy agency Mossad.

The leader of Hezbollah vowed to retaliate for this week’s deadly attacks on the group’s communications devices

As tensions remained high Friday between Hezbollah and Israel, international leaders called for both sides to seek paths to de-escalate the conflict.

Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander in an airstrike on Beirut's southern suburbs on Friday, the Israeli military and two security sources in Lebanon said, sharply escalating the year-long conflict between Israel and the Iran-backed group.