Hamas Officer Killed In Lebanon

An Israeli strike on a vehicle in the south Lebanon city of Sidon yesterday killed a Hamas commander, the Palestinian militant group and the Israeli military said.

It is the first strike of its kind in Sidon since Hamas launched its October 7 terror attack on Israel, triggering war in Gaza and prompting its Lebanese ally Hezbollah to begin trading near-daily cross-border fire with the Israeli army in a bid to tie down its troops.

Hamas said in a statement that its “commander” Samer al-Hajj was killed “in a Zionist strike in the city of Sidon”.

A Lebanese security source, speaking anonymously, said “an Israeli strike targeted a Hamas movement security official from the Ain al-Helweh camp while he was inside his vehicle in the city of Sidon.”

Ain al-Helweh and other refugee camps were created for Palestinians who were driven out or fled during the 1948 war that followed Israel’s creation. The Israeli military said its aircraft struck the Sidon area and “eliminated” Hajj, whom it identified as “a senior commander” for Hamas.

It said Hajj “was responsible for advancing terror attacks and projectile launches from Lebanon toward Israeli territory”, and he was “the military forces’ commander in the Ain al-Helweh camp … responsible for recruitment and training” of terrorist operatives.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said an “enemy drone” carried out the deadly strike, which it said also wounded “two civilians”.

Hamas channels on the Telegram messaging app circulated video of young men marching through what it said was the Ain al-Helweh camp “after a Hamas martyr rose in the bombardment of his vehicle by an Israeli drone”.

It is another provocative attack by Israel as Hezbollah is still threatening a massive retaliation for Israel from these strikes unless there is a ceasefire in Gaza.