The Palestinian militant organisation, Hamas, has announced that its leader in Lebanon, Fateh Sherif Abu El-Amin, was killed Monday in an Israeli strike. The attack, which specifically targeted their home, also claimed the lives of El-Amin’s wife, son, and daughter. The attack occurred in the southern city of Tyre, inside a Palestinian refugee camp in the early morning.
This comes as Israel intensifies its campaigns against the allies of Iran in the region. Another Palestinian militant organisation, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), reported that an airstrike in the Kola district of Beirut claimed the lives of three of its leaders. Eyewitnesses indicated that the upper section of an apartment block was hit.
The Israeli military has made no immediate commentary regarding these incidents. The continuous Israeli attacks on Hizbullah and Houthi militants in Lebanon and Yemen respectively are causing growing concerns that the turmoil in the Middle East could increase out of hand, potentially involving Iran and the US, Israel’s principal ally.
The PFLP is an additional militant faction engaging in the battle against Israel. On Sunday, Israel carried out airstrikes against Houthi militants in Yemen and multiple Hizbullah targets across Lebanon, following the assassination of the Hizbullah leader.
It has been reported that these reprisal airstrikes in Yemen’s Hodeidah port led to at least four deaths and 29 injuries, according to Houthi health officials. Additionally, the Israeli airstrikes on Sunday in Lebanon resulted in at least 105 fatalities.
Lebanese health authorities have reported over 1,000 Lebanese fatalities and 6,000 injuries within the past fortnight. However, they have not provided information on how many of these were civilians. According to the government, a million people, approximately one-fifth of the nation’s population, have been forced out of their homes due to the escalating conflict.
The continuous amplification of Israeli attacks over a fortnight has led to the elimination of high-ranking Hizbullah officials, inclusive of their chief, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. Israel has committed to sustaining its assault, with the objective of providing safety for the northerners who were compelled to abandon their homes due to Hizbullah’s missile strikes.
Throughout a significant portion of Sunday, Israeli drones patrolled over Beirut, as the rumbling sounds of fresh air assaults reverberated across the capital of Lebanon. Families who had been forced out of their homes sought shelter for the night on seats at Zaitunay Bay, a popular stretch of eateries and coffee bars along the Beirut shoreline.
The bulk of Israel’s onslaughts have been directed towards Lebanon’s south, where a large part of Hizbullah’s Iran-backed operations are located, or the southern suburbs of Beirut. This week’s assault seemed to be the initial hit within the city borders of Beirut, targeting the Kola district. Residents reported that Syrians who had fled from the Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon had been seeking refuge under a bridge in the district for several days.
Although the US has advocated for a diplomatic settlement to the Lebanese crisis, it has also given the green signal for its military to further strengthen its presence in the region. US President Joe Biden, when questioned about the possibility of a full-blown war in the Middle East, stated that it is mandatory to prevent it. He also mentioned that he plans to engage in discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. – Reuters