Israeli strike kills Hamas operative in northern Lebanese city of Tripoli
A rare strike on a Palestinian refugee camp near Sunni stronghold of Tripoli kills a Hamas official
Israel expanded its operation in Lebanon on Saturday with its first strike in the northern city of Tripoli, a Lebanese security official said, after more airstrikes hit Beirut suburbs and Israeli troops launched raids in the south.
Israel has begun an intense bombing campaign in Lebanon and sent troops across the border in recent weeks after nearly a year of Hezbollah's lobbing projectiles at Israeli communities.
Israel aims to allow the safe return of tens of thousands of citizens to their homes in northern Israel, bombarded by Hezbollah since October 8 last year, a day after Hamas perpetrated the worst antisemitic atrocity since the Holocaust.
The Israeli attacks have eliminated much of Hezbollah's senior military leadership, including Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah in an air attack on September 27.
The Lebanese security official was cited in international media as saying that Saturday's strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in Tripoli killed a senior member of Hamas, his wife and two children. Media affiliated with the Palestinian group said the strike killed a leader of its armed wing, naming him as Saeed Atallah.
The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike on Tripoli, a Sunni Muslim-majority port city that its warplanes also targeted during a 2006 war with Hezbollah.