In Lebanon, a high-ranking Hamas leader met their demise.
For the first time in over a month, on October 7th's date, the Israeli forces also struck the northern part of Lebanon. As per the radical Islamic group, Hamas, a Palestinian refugee camp was hit, and a militia commander, Said Attallah Ali, along with his wife and two daughters, lost their lives. This was reported by Hamas themselves. The latter stated that this was the first Israeli attack in this region since the beginning of the Gaza conflict, which erupted after Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7th.
Israel has made a habit of targeting Hamas's leaders in Lebanon ever since the radical Islamic group launched a large-scale attack a year ago. On October 8th, Hamas reported the death of its most important figure in Lebanon, Fatah Sharif Abu al-Amin, in an attack on his residence in the Al-Bass camp, located in southern Lebanon. The Hamas leader in Lebanon, who was also a part of the Hamas leadership abroad, was killed.
On January 1st, Hamas's deputy chief, Saleh al-Aruri, and six other Hamas fighters, also lost their lives in an attack in the south of Beirut. In August, the Hamas commander, Samer al-Hajj, was killed in an Israeli attack in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon.
Approximately 250,000 Palestinian refugees and their descendants live in Lebanon, according to UN estimates. The Lebanese army refrains from interfering with the Palestinian refugee camps, which have been established for decades, and allows Palestinian groups to ensure security within these camps.
Hamas is part of the "Axis of Resistance" against Israel, led by Iran, along with the Lebanese Hezbollah militia. The latter opened a second front against Israel's north a day after Hamas's attack on the south of Israel on October 7th, by launching regular rocket attacks from Lebanon. Consequently, tens of thousands of civilians were forced to leave their homes.
Recently, the Israeli army declared that it had attacked Hezbollah fighters in a mosque in southern Lebanon. The Israeli air force, with the aid of military intelligence, reportedly targeted a Hezbollah command center within a mosque that was adjacent to the Salah Ghandur hospital in the south of Lebanon. It was the first time that the Israeli army had attacked a mosque in Lebanon since Hezbollah expanded its attacks on Israel, supporting Hamas in the Gaza war.
The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has escalated significantly over the past few weeks. In response to massive airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, the Israeli military announced the commencement of a "limited ground operation" in southern Lebanon on Tuesday night. Iran launched a large-scale rocket attack on Israel on Tuesday evening, citing various reasons, including the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah by an Israeli airstrike in a southern suburb of Beirut.
Following the escalation of the Gaza conflict, Hamas threatened a potential War with Israel. Despite the ceasefire agreement, tensions remain high, and the possibility of such a war remains a concern. The international community urgently calls for de-escalation to prevent a full-blown war between Hamas and Israel.
