An Israeli strike on a car within the south Lebanon metropolis of Sidon on Friday killed a Hamas commander, the Palestinian militant group and the Israeli navy stated.
It’s the first strike of its variety in Sidon since Hamas launched its October 7 assault on Israel, triggering struggle in Gaza and prompting its Lebanese ally Hezbollah to start buying and selling near-daily cross-border hearth with the Israeli military in a bid to tie down its troops.
Hamas stated in an announcement that its “commander” Samer al-Hajj was killed “in a Zionist strike within the metropolis of Sidon”.
In a separate assertion, the group’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, referred to as Hajj a “discipline commander”, saying his demise was an “assassination”.
A Lebanese safety supply stated “an Israeli strike focused a Hamas motion safety official from the Ain al-Helweh camp whereas he was inside his car within the metropolis of Sidon.” The supply requested anonymity as they weren’t authorised to talk to the media.
Ain al-Helweh and different refugee camps had been created for Palestinians who had been pushed out or fled through the 1948 struggle that accompanied Israel’s creation.
The Israeli navy stated that its plane struck the Sidon space and “eradicated” Hajj, whom it recognized as “a senior commander” for Hamas in Lebanon.
It stated Hajj “was accountable for advancing terror assaults and projectile launches from Lebanon towards Israeli territory”, and that he was “the navy forces’ commander within the Ain al-Helweh camp… and was accountable for the recruitment and coaching” of operatives.
– ‘Drone’ –
Lebanon’s state-run Nationwide Information Company stated an “enemy drone” carried out the lethal strike, which it stated additionally wounded “two civilians”.
An AFP correspondent noticed emergency personnel pull a charred physique from the car whereas troopers cordoned off the world.
Hamas channels on the Telegram messaging app circulated movies purportedly of younger males chanting and marching by way of the Ain al-Helweh camp after the strike.
Israel has repeatedly focused Hamas officers in Lebanon because the Gaza struggle erupted 10 months in the past, with 18 fighters from the group killed in Lebanon since then, in keeping with an AFP tally.
A strike in January, which a US defence official stated was carried out by Israel, killed Hamas deputy chief Saleh al-Aruri and 6 different militants in Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold.
In March, Hamas stated considered one of its members was killed in an Israeli strike in south Lebanon that state media stated killed three individuals.
In Could, Hamas stated a “commander” was killed in an Israeli strike on an japanese district of Lebanon close to the Syrian border.
Ten months of cross-border violence has killed some 562 individuals in Lebanon, most of them fighters but in addition together with at the least 116 civilians, in keeping with the AFP tally.
On the Israeli facet, together with within the annexed Golan Heights, 22 troopers and 26 civilians have been killed, in keeping with military figures.
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