Palestinian militant group Hamas has announced that its leader in Lebanon has been killed by Israeli air strikes as hundreds of IDF tanks line up along the border.
Fears are mounting about a potential ground invasion by Israel that could plunge the Middle East into an all-out war – as it was revealed 1million people in Lebanon have now been displaced from their homes.
Hamas said its leader in Lebanon, Fatah Sharif Abu al-Amine, died today in a strike on the country’s south, as official media reported a raid on a Palestinian refugee camp – days after Hezbollah’s long-standing chief Hassan Nasrallah was killed in Beirut.
The statement came hours after the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a secular left-wing group, said three of its members were killed in a strike on Beirut’s Kola district early Monday.
Israel has repeatedly targeted Hamas officials in Lebanon since the Gaza war erupted almost a year ago.
A strike in January, which a US defence official said was carried out by Israel, killed Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Aruri and six other militants in Hezbollah’s south Beirut stronghold.
In August, an Israeli strike on a vehicle in the south Lebanon city of Sidon killed Hamas commander Samer al-Hajj.
Lebanon’s official Palestinian refugee camps were created for Palestinians who were driven out or fled during the 1948 war at the time of Israel’s creation.
By longstanding convention, the Lebanese army stays out of the camps and leaves the Palestinian factions to handle security.
The latest developments come as Israel also launched a fresh wave of air strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.
The Israel-Hamas war has escalated in recent days after the IDF said it had wiped out Hezbollah’s top brass in the airstrike on southern Beirut that killed the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
Israeli troops and tanks were last night seen gathering in the north, on their border with southern Lebanon, in apparent preparation for a ground invasion.
The last time Israel launched a ground offensive of Lebanon was in 2006, when 34 days of intense cross-border fighting with Hezbollah ended in a stalemate.
The United States has issued an 11th-hour appeal to both sides for restraint, with US president Joe Biden warning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that an all-out war in the Middle East must be avoided.
Israel claimed that more than 20 senior Hezbollah members including Ali Karaki – who was in charge of the southern front – were assassinated in the attack on Friday alongside Nasrallah.
Reuters reported Nasrallah’s body was found yesterday, and videos circulating on social media purport to show his body being retrieved.
Israel claimed that more than 20 senior Hezbollah members including Ali Karaki – who was in charge of the southern front – were assassinated in the attack on Friday alongside Nasrallah.
Reuters reported Nasrallah’s body was found yesterday, and videos circulating on social media purport to show his body being retrieved.
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