Beirut, Lebanon–Palestinian resistance group Hamas said one of its members was killed in an Israeli strike in south Lebanon on Wednesday that state media said killed three people.
Hamas said the man killed in the strike was Hadi Mustafa, a member of its armed wing in Lebanon from the Palestinian refugee camp of Rashidiyeh, close to the coastal city of Tyre.
An AFP photographer saw the mangled wreck of a car engulfed by flames near the camp.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency said three people were killed in the strike, including a Syrian passing by on a motorcycle.
Since war erupted between Hamas and Israel in October, its Lebanese ally Hizbollah has exchanged near-daily fire with Israel, while Palestinian groups in Lebanon have also claimed cross-border attacks.
A strike in January, which a US defence official said was carried out by Israel, killed Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Aruri and six fighters in Hizbollah’s south Beirut stronghold.
Aruri is the most high-profile Hamas figure to be killed during the war.
In February, security sources told AFP a senior Hamas officer had survived an assassination attempt south of Beirut.
Israel has struck targets increasingly deep into Lebanese territory in response to cross-border fire.
Israeli strikes in eastern Lebanon killed two Hezbollah members on Tuesday.
Since hostilities began, at least 322 people have been killed in Lebanon, mainly Hizbollah fighters but also 56 civilians, according to an AFP tally.
In Israel, at least 10 soldiers and seven civilians have been killed in the cross-border exchanges, the military says.
The fighting has raised speculation Israeli forces could stage an invasion into Lebanon as well.
Hizbollah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah said Wednesday that Israeli forces were too “exhausted” to launch an all-out war.
“The Israeli army is exhausted… on the northern front, in the West Bank and in Gaza,” Nasrallah said in a televised address.
“This enemy and this enemy’s society are showing signs of fatigue,” he said, alleging that Israel’s army “was lacking personnel”.
