The US State Department has said that an American was killed in Lebanon this week and Washington was working to understand the circumstances of the incident, Reuters states.

Kamel Ahmad Jawad, from Dearborn, Michigan, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday, according to his daughter, a friend and the US congresswoman representing his district.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the department was “alarmed” by the reports, and added: “It is a moral and strategic imperative that Israel take all feasible precautions to mitigate civilian harm.”