Hamas leader in Lebanon killed in air strike as Israeli tanks mass on border and fears grow of ground invasion

30 September 2024, 08:03

The leader of Hamas in Lebanon has been killed by Israeli air strikes as the Middle East teeters on the brink of war and hundreds of IDF tanks mass at the border.

Hamas announced today that its leader in Lebanon, Fatah Sharif Abu al-Amine died in a strike on the camp where he was staying in the country’s south.

The death comes days after Hezbollah’s chief Hassan Nasrallah was killed in Beirut.

“Fatah Sharif Abu al-Amine, the leader of Hamas … in Lebanon and member of the movement’s leadership abroad” was killed in a strike on his “home in the Al-Bass camp in south Lebanon”, a Hamas statement said.

His wife, son and daughter were also killed, according to reports.

Israel has carried out "large-scale" air strikes against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

It follows the assassination of Hezbollah leader - Hassan Nasrallah - in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Friday.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the operation in Lebanon is about achieving long-term stability.

Lebanon says around a million people have now been displaced as a result of the conflict.

An Israeli air strike reportedly destroyed an apartment building in the centre of the Lebanese capital Beirut.

A separate group The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine say three of its leaders were killed in a strike in Beirut.

Hezbollah has also continued to fire rockets into northern Israel.

A residential neighbourhood that houses predominantly Sunni Muslims was hit early on Monday morning, according to the Associated Press.

There was no immediate comment from Israeli officials.

The Israel Defence Force has previously stated it carried out another targeted strike on Beirut but did not immediately provide details.

The airstrike killed at least one person and wounded 16, said an official with Lebanese Civil Defense, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He said the person killed was a member of the al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, or the Islamic Group, a Sunni political and militant group that is allied with Hezbollah.

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President Joe Biden says he is set to speak with Netanyahu in a bid to avoid 'all-out war' in the Middle East.

"It has to be," Mr Biden told reporters as he boarded Air Force One for Washington.

"We really have to avoid it."