3 dead in north Lebanon strike that Israel says hit Hamas militant
The strike came as Israel and Hamas held ceasefire talks in Qatar and after five Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in the Gaza Strip, one of the deadliest days for Israeli forces in the Palestinian territory this year.
Israel has kept up its strikes on Lebanon despite the November truce, mainly hitting what it says are Hezbollah targets but also occasionally targeting Hamas.
The Israeli military said it "struck and eliminated the terrorist Mehran Mustafa Ba'jur" in an intelligence-led strike, calling him "one of Hamas's key commanders in Lebanon".
It released six seconds of video footage of what appeared to be an air strike on a moving car. AFP cannot independently verify the footage.
"During the war, he was responsible for rocket fire attacks towards (the northern Israeli cities of) Nahariya, Kiryat Shmona and additional cities across Israel," a statement said.
"His elimination significantly damages Hamas's terror activity in Lebanon," it added, promising to "operate against Hamas's establishment in Lebanon, and... wherever they operate".
Lebanon's health ministry said the strike on a vehicle "killed three people and wounded 13" in an area that is close to a Palestinian refugee camp.
An AFP photographer saw a burnt out car surrounded by the emergency services and onlookers.
Hamas claimed attacks on Israel from Lebanon during more than a year of cross-border hostilities launched by Hezbollah in October 2023 in support of its Palestinian ally.
Israel has struck Hamas operatives in Lebanon, including since the ceasefire.
In May, Hamas said one of its commanders was killed in a strike on the southern city of Sidon as Israel said it targeted "the head of operations in Hamas's Western Brigade in Lebanon".
In October, Hamas said one of its operatives was killed along with his wife and two daughters in a strike on their home in Beddawi, a Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli. Israel's military said it targeted "a senior member of Hamas's military wing in Lebanon".
In May, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas visited Beirut for talks on disarming militants in refugee camps across Lebanon as the Beirut government seeks to impose its authority across all its territory.
Israeli strikes on south Lebanon remain common, but raids on the north have been rare.
A separate Israeli drone strike on a car near the southern village of Babliyeh on Tuesday killed one person, the health ministry said.
The Israeli military said earlier that it had killed two Hezbollah operatives in strikes on south Lebanon on Monday.
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