Police said the suspect was twice smuggled into Iran from Turkey, where he demanded $1 million in advance for killing the Israeli prime minister.

Hezbollah began striking Israel almost immediately after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack that sparked the Israel-Hamas war. Since then, Israel and Hezbollah have exchanged fire daily, coming close to a full-blown war on several occasions and forcing tens of thousands on both sides of the border to evacuate their homes.

Israel bombed southern Lebanon on Thursday and said it had thwarted an Iranian-led assassination plot after explosions in booby-trapped radios and pagers in the past two days caused bloody havoc in the ranks of its arch-foe Hezbollah.

An Israel citizen has been arrested on suspicion of being paid by Iranian sources to assassinate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to Israeli police.

Overnight, the IAF struck Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure sites in the areas of Chihine, Tayibe, Blida, Meiss El Jabal, Aitaroun and Kfarkela in southern Lebanon, as well as a Hezbollah weapons storage facility in the area of Khiam in southern Lebanon.

Israel bombed southern Lebanon on Thursday and said it had thwarted an Iran-backed assassination plot, a day after explosions of Hezbollah radios followed blasts in booby trapped pagers, setting the foes hurtling towards war.

The two serial blasts that have killed dozens and injured thousands of its fighters have put the Iran-backed Hezbollah, which has been involved in near-daily cross-border fire with Israel since Hamas's October 7 attacks sparked the war in Gaza,