ISRAEL KILLS HAMAS MEMBER AS LEBANON STRIKES EXPAND
▶ Deadly attack near city of Tyre launched amid increasing tension over cross-border violence
Israel said it killed a “significant operative” of Hamas in a drone strike in southern Lebanon yesterday.
This came as Israeli forces expanded the scope of attacks in Lebanon after US-led efforts to secure a ceasefire before Ramadan failed.
Hadi Mustafa was killed on a road near the coastal city of Tyre, Hamas said.
While Israeli forces said Mr Mustafa was a “significant operative”, a Hamas source denied he was a senior official.
Israel claimed he was involved in directing Hamas cells, as well as “advancing attacks against Israelis and Jews in several countries abroad”.
The military said Mr Mustafa worked under the direction of Samir Fendi, a senior Hamas official who was killed – alongside Hamas deputy leader Saleh Al Arouri – in an Israeli strike on Beirut on January 2.
Mr Mustafa was from the Rashidieh refugee camp, close to Tyre, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported.
A Syrian man on a motorbike was also killed in the strike, the NNA reported. Two people were injured.
The strike, about 2km from Tyre, is the closest Israeli attack to the city since the war in Gaza began on October 7.
It comes after Israeli aircraft struck deep into Lebanon for a second consecutive day on Tuesday, hitting a Hezbollah site in the Bekaa Valley.
A Lebanese official close to Hezbollah said the larger scope of Israeli attacks appeared to reflect increased Israeli threats in recent days.
The official said that followed comments by far-right Israeli
Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir, who called for escalation after Hezbollah launched more than 100 rockets on Tuesday.
US envoy Amos Hochstein visited Beirut this month in an attempt to broker a ceasefire on the Lebanon-Israel border.
Hezbollah has vowed not to stop the fighting until a ceasefire is reached in Gaza.
Israeli security troops shot dead a Palestinian teenager after a stabbing attack in the occupied West Bank amid rising tension during Ramadan.
The 15-year-old stabbed two security forces officers guarding a checkpoint outside Bethlehem, moderately injuring them, Israel’s ambulance service said yesterday.
Soldiers and an armed civilian guard shot the attacker, “neutralising” him, police said.
Witnesses told Palestinian news agency Wafa that Israeli troops had left the teenager to bleed to death and did not allow medics to give him first aid.
The attack adds to fears that, just days into the holy month, anger is at boiling point over Israel’s continuing military campaign in Gaza and heavy restrictions on Palestinians in the West Bank.
Israel is also coming under criticism for limiting access to Al Aqsa Mosque, quoting security concerns.
The stabbing took place at the Tunnels Barrier checkpoint, close to Bethlehem and near Israeli settlements.
The attack came hours after five Palestinians were killed by the Israeli army across the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
Two were killed outside the emergency department of a hospital in the city of Jenin.
Two others, including a teenager, were shot dead in Al Jib, north of Jerusalem.
A 13-year-old boy was shot dead by border police in East Jerusalem’s Shuafat refugee camp on Tuesday night.
Israeli police said the child had aimed a firework at security officers, although video footage does not clearly show whether the boy aimed at troops or into the air.
Israel’s far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir praised the officer who shot the boy.
The officer is being questioned over the killing, a decision Mr Ben-Gvir called “shameful and disgraceful”.
Mr Ben-Gvir added that the “terrorist” had sought to “harm our soldiers” by shooting the firework.
In response, Israel’s Attorney General Gali Baharav Miara published a letter warning him: “Any interference by you in the investigations, directly or indirectly, breaks the law, significantly damages the rule of law and constitutes a politicisation of the law enforcement system.
“Criminal investigations … are carried out independently,” he added.
Yitzhak Wasserlauf, a junior minister from Mr Ben-Gvir’s party, said questioning the officer will lead to police being “scared to do what is necessary to neutralise terrorists”.
Israeli authorities on Tuesday published rules on who can visit Al Aqsa Mosque for Friday prayers, although they stressed that these would be subject to change based on security assessments.
Authorities are allowing a similar number of Muslims to enter Al Aqsa Mosque compound during Ramadan as in previous years, Tal Heinrich, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Tuesday.
“Right now, as for the first week of the holy month, we can say there’s been no change in the number of people allowed to enter compared to what we saw in previous years,” she said.
“In other words, despite the war, [it’s] business as usual.
“Every week there will be assessments of public safety considerations, but also security considerations … to assess the number of people to be allowed in.”
The guidelines have angered Mr Ben-Gvir, who called for much harsher limits on access to the site for Muslims, including Israeli Arabs.
Mr Ben-Gvir has long said Israel should take full control of Al Aqsa.
The attack adds to fears that, days into Ramadan, anger is at boiling point over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza