Palestinian terrorist group Hamas said an Israeli strike killed its leader in Lebanon on Monday, while another Palestinian terrorist group said three of its leaders were killed in a strike on Beirut, the first attack within the city limits.
Hamas said its leader in Lebanon, Fateh Sherif Abu el-Amin was killed, along with his wife, son, and daughter, in a strike that targeted their house in the southern city of Tyre, which also has a Palestinian refugee camp, in the early hours of Monday.
As Israel escalates hostilities against Iran’s allies in the region, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said three of its leaders were killed in a strike that targeted Beirut’s Kola district.
The strike hit the upper floor of an apartment building, Reuters witnesses said.
There was no immediate comment from Israel’s military.
Israel’s increasing frequency of attacks against the Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon and the Houthi terrorists in Yemen have prompted fears that Middle East fighting could spin out of control and draw in Iran and the United States, Israel’s main ally.
The PFLP is another terrorist group taking part in the fight against Israel.
Israel on Sunday launched airstrikes against the Houthi terrorist group in Yemen and dozens of Hezbollah targets throughout Lebanon after earlier killing the Hezbollah leader.
The Houthi-run health ministry said at least four people were killed and 29 wounded in airstrikes on Yemen’s port of Hodeidah, which Israel said were a response to Houthi missile attacks. In Lebanon, authorities said at least 105 people had been killed by Israeli air strikes on Sunday.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry has said more than 1,000 Lebanese have been killed and 6,000 wounded in the past two weeks, without saying how many were civilians. The government said a million people—a fifth of the population—have fled their homes. Israel has said it gives civilians advanced warnings, asking for their cooperation to evacuate areas ahead of their strikes.
The intensifying Israeli bombardment over two weeks has killed a string of top Hezbollah leaders, including its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.
Israel has vowed to keep up the assault and says it wants to make its northern areas secure again for residents who have been forced to flee Hezbollah rocket attacks.
Israeli drones hovered over Beirut for much of Sunday, with the loud blasts of new airstrikes echoing around the Lebanese capital. Displaced families spent the night on benches at Zaitunay Bay, a string of restaurants and cafes on Beirut’s waterfront.
Many of Israel’s attacks have been carried out in the south of Lebanon, where the Iran-backed Hezbollah has most of its operations, or Beirut’s southern suburbs.
Monday’s attack in the Kola district appeared to be the first strike within Beirut’s city limits. Syrians living in southern Lebanon who had fled Israeli bombardment had been sleeping under a bridge in the neighborhood for days, residents of the area said.
The United States has urged a diplomatic resolution in line with existing U.N. Security Council resolutions, which Hezbollah violated, resulting in retaliation by Israel.
U.S. President Joe Biden, asked if an all-out war in the Middle East could be avoided, said “It has to be.” He said he will be talking to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
