Hamas official targeted in Lebanon ‘escaped’ Israeli strike — security source

A Hamas official allegedly targeted in an Israeli drone strike yesterday “escaped” the attempted assassination, according to a Lebanese security source.

Lebanon’s official National News Agency says yesterday’s strike near the village of Souairi in the Bekaa Valley killed a Syrian civilian in his vehicle.

The security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, tells AFP that the Hamas official was traveling along the same road.

“A Hamas official was targeted by the Israeli drone attack on Sunday but escaped,” says the source, without naming the official.

Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza during the war that erupted there on October 7.

The strike in the Souairi area, near Lebanon’s border with Syria, was the first alleged Israeli attack there in nearly six months of fighting.

Another security source says yesterday’s pre-dawn Israeli strikes wounded four people, including a Hezbollah member, in Baalbek, further north in the Bekaa Valley.