October 05, 2024
By Samuel Ogunsona
Israeli strike targeted Lebanon’s northern city of Tripoli for the first time early Saturday, killing a Hamas official, his wife, and two children in a Palestinian refugee camp, according to a Lebanese security source ¹. This marks a significant expansion of Israel’s military campaign in Lebanon.
The strike also killed a leader of Hamas’ armed wing, as reported by Hamas-affiliated media. Israel’s military has not commented on the Tripoli strike.
Israel has intensified its strikes on Lebanon in recent weeks, following nearly a year of exchanging fire with Hezbollah, an Iran-backed armed group. Fighting was previously confined to the Israel-Lebanon border area, alongside Israel’s year-old war in Gaza against Hamas.
Israel has been conducting nightly bombardments of Beirut’s southern suburbs, a Hezbollah stronghold. Residents received three evacuation alerts overnight, followed by at least one blast, witnessed by Reuters.
On Friday, Israel targeted Hezbollah’s intelligence headquarters and assessed damage from strikes on senior figures. Israel claims to have eliminated much of Hezbollah’s senior military leadership, including Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in an air attack on September 27.
Lebanon’s government reports over 2,000 deaths in the past year, mostly in the last two weeks. Strikes on medical teams, facilities, and rescue workers have increased. More than 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced, with most shelters at full capacity.
The United Nations condemns the toll on Lebanese civilians as “totally unacceptable.” A recent Israeli strike closed the main border crossing between Lebanon and Syria, further complicating the humanitarian situation.
