Israel denies gunning down top Hezbollah commander who fought for Assad in Syrian civil war Hassan Hawlo al-Lakiss shot by a silenced gun outside his home in Beirut Most senior leader to be assassinated since one killed in bombing in 2008 Hezbollah: 'Direct accusation is aimed of course against the Israeli enemy' Israel: 'This is yet another Pavlovian response from Hezbollah' 'Pavlonian response': Israel has denied claims by Hezbollah that it killed one of the Lebanese group's top commanders, Hassan Hawlo al-Lakiss (pictured), at his house near Beirut Israel today denied allegations by Hezbollah that it was behind the assassination of one of the Lebanese Shiite movement's top commanders near Beirut. Hassan Hawlo al-Lakiss, who was shot from close range by a silenced gun as he arrived home at around midnight in the Hadath district of Beirut, a source close to Hezbollah said. A source close to Hezbollah said al-Lakiss had taken part in several battles inside Syria for President Bashar Al-Assad during the country's civil war. He was the most senior Hezbollah figure to be assassinated since Imad Mughniyeh was killed in a Damascus bombing in 2008, which the group also blamed on Israel. Both men were part of Hezbollah's secretive top leadership. Israel's foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told the AFP news agency: 'This is yet another Pavlovian response from Hezbollah, which makes automatic accusations (against Israel) before even thinking about what's actually happened. Israel has nothing to do with this. Hezbollah earlier today announced that Lakiss had been assassinated during the night at his house in the Hadath region, east of Beirut. 'Direct accusation is aimed of course against the Israeli enemy which had tried to eliminate our martyred brother again and again and in several places but had failed, until yesterday evening,' a Hezbollah statement said. Israel's Energy Minister Silvan Shalom reiterated Palmor's denial, telling public radio: 'Israel has nothing to do with this. Midnight attack: Lebanese residents gather near the scene where al-Lakiss was gunned down outside his home, some two miles southwest of Beirut in Lebanon Targeted: A Hezbollah flag hangs on yellow police tape sealing off the scene where al-Lakiss, was shot 'Even if we're happy about it, it's the Salafists who have carried it out,' Shalom said in reference to extremist Sunni Muslim groups who oppose the Shiite, Iran-backed Hezbollah. 'It's a harsh blow for Hezbollah, which has tried to present the assassination (as Israeli) in order to distract from internal wrangling and divisions in Lebanon brought on by the Syrian' civil war, Shalom said. Hezbollah, which fought a 34-day war with Israel in 2006, also sent fighters into neighbouring Syria to support President Bashar al-Assad against mainly Sunni Muslim rebels, an intervention which helped to raise sectarian tension in Lebanon. A previously unknown group, Ahrar al-Sunna Baalbek brigade, had claimed responsibility for the attack in a message on Twitter. Tensions: A source close to Hezbollah said al-Lakiss had taken part in several battles inside Syria during the country's civil war The claim could not be verified but the name of the purported group suggested Lebanese Sunni Muslim connections. Footage from the scene broadcast by Hezbollah's Al Manar television on Wednesday showed two bullet marks in a wall and muddy footprints it said had been left by possibly more than one assailant. Hezbollah described Al-Lakiss, who will be buried in Baalbek in the Bekaa Valley later in the day, as 'one of the leaders of the Islamic resistance' against Israel who had been frequently targeted by the Jewish state. Hezbollah emerged during Lebanon's civil war in the 1980s with the aim of driving Israeli forces out of the country and battled the Jewish state to a bloody stalemate in 2006. Hezbollah said Lakiss's son was killed in the 2006 war, which claimed the lives of some 1,200 Lebanese, mainly civilians, and more than 150 Israelis, mainly soldiers.