Figure Close to Hamas Survives Israeli Strike in Lebanon

Lebanese army soldiers stand around a  wrecked car following a drone strike in the village of Jadra, between Beirut and Sidon, Lebanon, 10 February 2024. EPA/STR
Lebanese army soldiers stand around a wrecked car following a drone strike in the village of Jadra, between Beirut and Sidon, Lebanon, 10 February 2024. EPA/STR
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Figure Close to Hamas Survives Israeli Strike in Lebanon

Lebanese army soldiers stand around a  wrecked car following a drone strike in the village of Jadra, between Beirut and Sidon, Lebanon, 10 February 2024. EPA/STR
Lebanese army soldiers stand around a wrecked car following a drone strike in the village of Jadra, between Beirut and Sidon, Lebanon, 10 February 2024. EPA/STR

An Israeli drone strike hit a car near Lebanon’s southern port city of Sidon on Saturday, killing several people and wounding two others, security officials said.
The drone strike near the coastal town of Jadra took place about 60 kilometers from the Israeli border, making it one of the farthest inside Lebanon since violence erupted along the Lebanon-Israel border on Oct. 8, a day after Hamas' attack in southern Israel.

The strike targeted a Palestinian figure close to Hamas but he survived, four security sources said, according to Reuters.
Three other people were killed, including one Hezbollah member, the security sources also told Reuters.
One source said the person targeted was close to Saleh al-Arouri, the Hamas deputy chief killed last month in an Israeli strike on a suburb of Beirut.

There was no immediate comment from Israel, but the Times of Israel daily reported that the strike targeted Basel Salah, describing him as a recruiter for Hamas in Gaza and the West Bank.
Drone strikes in Lebanon blamed on Israel have so far killed several officials from Hezbollah as well as the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The previous farthest strike was the Jan. 2 attack that killed Arouri in Beirut.

Earlier, Hezbollah said on Saturday it had seized an Israeli Skylark drone over Lebanese airspace "in good condition.”
The Skylark is a small, unmanned aerial vehicle typically used for surveillance and produced by Israel-based weapons manufacturer Elbit Systems.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.