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’s retaliation for the assassination of its commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut earlier this month.
An Israeli drone raid in the coastal city of Sidon on Friday, about 50km (30 miles) from Lebanon’s southern border, killed Hamas official Samer al-Hajj – who was based in the neighbouring Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp.
The attack also injured two civilians, according to Lebanese media outlets. Hamas hailed al-Hajj as a “martyr” on Friday. The Israeli military described him as a commander who was responsible for attacks on Israel from Lebanon.
Lebanon National News Agency reported that impromptu protests broke out in Sidon on Friday to denounce the killing of al-Hajj.
Israel also carried out attacks in border towns and villages, including in Kfar Kila and Meiss el-Jabal, Markaba.
The Israeli raids come as Hezbollah officials say that the group will respond to the assassination of Shukr, who was killed along with several civilians in an Israeli air strike in Beirut late in July.
Iran is also expected to launch its own retaliatory attack against Israel for the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
At the same time, Hezbollah has continued its near-daily clashes with Israel across the border.
On Friday, the Lebanese group claimed several attacks against Israel, including targeting buildings used by troops in the northern Israeli town of Dovev and al-Manara and launching rockets against a military base in Kiryat Shmona.
Hezbollah started attacking military bases in northern Israel the day after the outbreak of the war on Gaza on October 7 in what it says is a “support front” to back Palestinian groups.
The hostilities have been largely confined to the border region, forcing tens of thousands of Lebanese and Israeli residents to flee the area.
But the assassination of Shukr in the Dahiyeh suburbs of the Lebanese capital have fuelled fears of escalation between the two sides.
Hezbollah maintains that it is not seeking an all-out war, but that it is ready for one should it break out.
Last week, the group’s chief Hasan Nasallah said Israel crossed red lines by attacking Beirut, stressing that the retaliation for the killing of Shukr is “inevitable”.
The assassination of Shukr was the second Israeli assault on the Lebanese capital and its suburbs this year. In January, an Israeli air raid in Dahiyeh killed Hamas official Saleh al-Arouri.
The killing of al-Hajj far from the border on Friday is likely to further fuel tensions between Hezbollah and Israel.
Reporting from Marjayoun in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera’s Assed Baig says the Israeli drone attack in Sidon came amid a busy day of cross-border attacks.
“Sidon is roughly just over 50km [30 miles] from Lebanon’s southern border and around 40km [25 miles] from the capital, Beirut, and what it shows is that Israel is going deeper into Lebanon,” Baig said.
He added that the strike is also “quite significant” due to its timing with Hezbollah expected to launch a major attack on Israel to respond to the killing of Shukr.
