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Two Israeli missile attacks targeted Hamas officials in Lebanon. However, the target managed to survive. Photo/REUTERS
BEIRUT – A two-missile attack by an Israeli drone targeted a top Hamas official in Beirut, Lebanon, on Saturday. However, the target managed to survive.
The attack hit a car carrying the target, about 35 km from the center of Beirut. Instead of hitting the target, the attack killed two civilians who were in the car.
A Lebanese Civil Defense official told AFP, Sunday (11/2/2024), that both victims killed were civilians.
Lebanese security sources did not reveal the identity of the top Hamas official who was the target of Israel's assassination. However, the target had close ties to Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy chairman of Hamas who was killed in an Israeli attack on the outskirts of Beirut last month.
Meanwhile, the Times of Israel reported that the target to be killed by the missile attack was Basel Salah. According to the report, Basel Salah is known as a recruiter for Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank.
The two missile attacks were the second in Lebanon this week – outside the border area with Israel.
“This happened deep inside Lebanon, about 60 km (37 miles) from the border with Israel, outside the battlefield where the Israeli army and the Lebanese Hezbollah group exchanged fire, sparked by the war in Gaza,” said Zeina Khodr, a journalist Al Jazeera reporting live from Beirut.
The Palestinian source, who asked not to be named due to security concerns, said the attack was a failed attempt to kill a senior Hamas official.
Hezbollah and Israel have exchanged fire almost every day since October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched an attack on Israeli territory that killed around 1,100 people. The Israeli military then launched land, air and land attacks on Gaza which has left more than 28,000 people dead.
However, regular exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and the Israeli military are largely confined to border areas.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas in Lebanon or the Israeli military.
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