Video: Israeli Drone Strike Kills Hamas Commander in Sidon

On Friday, an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon resulted in the death of a Hamas commander, marking the first such incident in Sidon since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. This incident has escalated the ongoing conflict in Gaza and heightened tensions with Hezbollah, which has increased its cross-border engagements with Israel.

Hamas identified the individual killed as Samer al-Hajj, referring to the event as an assassination by a “Zionist strike.” Meanwhile, the Israeli military confirmed the strike, stating it had eliminated Hajj, whom they described as a senior Hamas commander in Lebanon. According to the Israeli forces, Hajj played a crucial role in planning terror attacks and launching projectiles from Lebanon into Israel. He was also noted as a key figure in recruitment and training within the Ain el-Helweh camp.

Lebanese authorities reported that an “enemy drone” conducted the strike, which also injured two civilians. Emergency teams were seen extracting a charred body from the targeted vehicle.

The death of Hajj has prompted reactions within Ain el-Helweh, with videos on social media showing residents mourning and protesting the assassination.

This event is part of a broader pattern of Israeli actions targeting Hamas officials in Lebanon over the past 10 months, which has seen 18 Hamas fighters killed in the region. The most notable of these strikes occurred in January when a U.S. defense official attributed the killing of Hamas’s deputy leader and six others in Beirut to an Israeli operation.

Recent hostilities have taken a heavy toll, with AFP reporting 562 fatalities in Lebanon, primarily combatants but including civilians, and 48 deaths on the Israeli side, encompassing both military personnel and civilians.