Israel carries out a deadly air raid in Saida, in the heart of southern Lebanon, amid growing regional tensions.
Israel has stepped up its attacks in Lebanon, killing a Hamas official in the coastal city of Sidon, as the region continues to anticipate Hezbollah retaliation for the assassination of its commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut earlier this month.
An Israeli drone strike on the coastal city of Sidon, about 50 km from Lebanon’s southern border, on Friday killed Hamas official Samer al-Hajj, who was based in the nearby Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh.
The attack also injured two civilians, according to Lebanese media. Hamas on Friday hailed al-Hajj as a “martyr.” The Israeli military described him as a commander responsible for attacks on Israel from Lebanon.
The Lebanese National News Agency reported that impromptu protests broke out in Sidon on Friday to denounce al-Hajj’s killing.
Israel also carried out attacks in border towns and villages, including Kfar Kila and Meiss el-Jabal, Markaba.
The Israeli raids come as Hezbollah officials say the group will respond to the assassination of Shukr, who was killed along with several civilians in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut in late July.
Iran is also expected to launch its own retaliatory attack against Israel for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
At the same time, Hezbollah continues its almost daily clashes with Israel across the border.
On Friday, the Lebanese group claimed responsibility for several attacks on Israel, including targeting buildings used by troops in the northern Israeli towns of Dovev and al-Manara and launching rockets at a military base in Kiryat Shmona.
Hezbollah began attacking military bases in northern Israel the day after the Gaza war broke out on October 7, in what it calls a “support front” to back Palestinian groups.
Hostilities were largely confined to the border region, forcing tens of thousands of Lebanese and Israeli residents to flee the area.
But Shukr’s assassination in the Lebanese capital’s Dahiyeh suburb has fuelled fears of an escalation between the two sides.
Hezbollah says it is not seeking an all-out war, but is prepared to start one if it breaks out.
Last week, the group’s leader, Hassan Nasallah, said Israel had crossed red lines by attacking Beirut, stressing that retaliation for Shukr’s killing was “inevitable.”
Shukr’s assassination is the second Israeli attack on the Lebanese capital and its suburbs this year. In January, an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh killed Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri.
The assassination of al-Hajj on Friday far from the border risks further stoking tensions between Hezbollah and Israel.
Reporting from Marjayoun in southern Lebanon, Tel Aviv Tribune’s Assed Baig says the Israeli drone strike in Sidon came amid a busy day of cross-border attacks.
“Sidon is about 50 km from Lebanon’s southern border and about 40 km from the capital, Beirut, and this shows that Israel is pushing deeper into Lebanon,” Baig said.
He added that the strike is also “quite significant” because of its timing as Hezbollah expects to launch a major attack against Israel in response to Shukr’s assassination.
