IDF airstrikes kill top Hamas leader in Lebanon as Gaza war intensifies across the region
Three other Hamas operatives were also reportedly killed in the airstrike in southern Lebanon.
Israel has reportedly killed the deputy commander of the armed wing of Hamas in Lebanon.
Israel conducted an airstrike near the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, killing Khalil Haraz, the deputy commander of the Al-Qassam Brigades, according to Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jareeda.
The report states that three other Hamas operatives were also killed in the strike.
It comes after an Israeli strike on southern Lebanon on Tuesday killed two journalists reporting for the Beirut-based Al-Mayadeen TV on the violence along the border with Israel, according to Lebanese officials and the TV station.
A separate strike at another location in Lebanon killed four Palestinian members of the Hamas militant group.
Read more Dramatic moment Israel smashes terrorist bomb factory in huge explosion [LATEST]
The Israeli military said it was looking into the matter. In a statement earlier Tuesday, it said its aircraft “struck three armed terrorist cells in the area of the border with Lebanon” in addition to Hezbollah infrastructure.
Also in southern Lebanon Tuesday, an Israeli drone strike in the village of Chaatiyeh near the Mediterranean coast killed four members of Hamas, a Palestinian official and a Lebanese security official said.
The Palestinian official said they were members of the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing.
The Lebanese security official also confirmed that the four killed were members of Hamas without saying if they were from the military wing. A Hamas official in Lebanon said there were “a number of martyrs from the Palestinian resistance”, without confirming the number or identities.
The three officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to reveal military information.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported that four people were killed in the vehicle but did not give any further details.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike.
The Lebanon-Israel border has been witnessing daily exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and Israeli troops. The clashes began a day after Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7 that killed about 1,200 people while about 240 were dragged back to Gaza as hostages.
Israel has since carried out a wide-scale military campaign in the Gaza Strip, killing more than 12,700 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.
Follow our social media accounts here on facebook.com/ExpressUSNews and @expressusnews
- Support fearless journalism
- Read The Daily Express online, advert free
- Get super-fast page loading
