Hamas commander, Saeed Attallah Ali, along with his wife and two daughters, were killed on Saturday during an Israeli airstrike on their home in the Beddawi camp near Tripoli, northern Lebanon.
Hamas confirmed that this was the first time the area had been targeted since the Gaza war began nearly a year ago, Aljazeera reports.
Israel has expanded its attacks on Lebanon, moving beyond the border region after a year of escalating tensions with Hezbollah. In Beirut’s southern suburbs, explosions were heard on Saturday.
Residents in Dahiyeh received warnings from Israel prior to the strikes, though it remains unclear how many civilians managed to escape.
On Friday, Israel targeted Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters in the southern suburbs, claiming to have eliminated senior military figures.
The Israeli military also stated that it struck Hezbollah fighters inside a mosque near Salah Ghandour Hospital in southern Lebanon, which it alleged was a command center. Nine hospital staff members were seriously injured during the strike, following an Israeli warning to evacuate.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah engaged in combat with Israeli forces in southern Lebanon and launched rockets at Israel’s Ramat David Airbase on Saturday.
The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health reported that more than 2,000 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in the past year, with the majority of casualties occurring in the last two weeks.
The United Nations condemned the toll on civilians, calling it “totally unacceptable,” as shelters for displaced persons reached capacity and the main Lebanon-Syria border crossing was closed after an Israeli strike on Friday.
Despite Israeli requests, UN peacekeepers stated that they would not relocate from their positions in southern Lebanon.
A South Korean military aircraft evacuated 97 citizens from Lebanon on Saturday, as Israeli strikes and Hezbollah retaliations continued to escalate across the region.
