Hamas has announced that its leader in Lebanon, Fateh Sherif Abu el-Amin, was killed in Israeli airstrikes, along with his wife, son, and daughter, during a strike on their home in a Palestinian refugee camp in Tyre.
This comes shortly after the death of Hezbollah’s chief, Hassan Nasrallah, in Beirut. Hamas described the attack as a “terrorist and criminal assassination.”
The statement followed reports from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) about the deaths of three of its members in a strike in Beirut’s Kola district.
Most of Israel’s operations against Hezbollah have primarily targeted southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut.
This morning’s attack in the Kola district marked the first within Beirut’s city limits, raising concerns about a potential wider war involving Iran and the United States.
Meanwhile, the US and other international actors made an urgent appeal for restraint over the weekend.
President Joe Biden cautioned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu against an all-out war in the Middle East, even as the US military increases its presence in the region.
According to Lebanon’s Health Ministry, over 1,030 people, including 156 women and 87 children, have been killed in less than two weeks due to Israel’s intensified attacks on Hezbollah.
The airstrike in Kola struck a multistory residential building, causing significant damage. Israel has consistently targeted both Hezbollah and Hamas officials in Lebanon since the Gaza war began nearly a year ago, vowing to continue the assault to secure its northern areas from Hezbollah rocket attacks.
