Hamas says its leader in Lebanon was killed in an Israeli strike

Smoke rises after an Israeli attack in Khiam town of Nabatieh, Lebanon, on September 28, 2024.

Ramiz Dallah/Anadolu via Getty Images

Hamas says its top leader in Lebanon, Fateh Sherif Abu el-Amin, was killed in an Israeli airstrike.It said he was killed along with his wife and children in their home in the Al-Bas camp.Israel has been targeting Hezbollah in its strikes on Lebanon.

Hamas said its leader in Lebanon, Fateh Sherif Abu el-Amin, and several of his family members were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon.

The militant group made the statement on Monday on its Telegram channel, per NBC News.

It said el-Amin was killed alongside his wife and children “in their home in the (Al-Bas) camp.”

The reported killing comes after Israel said it killed longtime Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an airstrike in Lebanon on Saturday.

It also claimed to have taken out Nabil Qaouk, the commander of Hezbollah’s Preventative Security Unit and a member of the group’s Executive Council, in a separate airstrike.

Israel has continued to strike targets in southern Lebanon and in Beirut.

The latest developments are ones that could draw Iran more directly into the conflict, given its ties to the militant groups.

Iran is under pressure to respond to such attacks, but Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also wants to ease tensions with the US and have economic sanctions on his country lifted. That is looking less and less likely.

In July, when Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran just hours after he attended Pezeshkian’s inauguration, with the finger being pointed at Israel, Iran vowed to retaliate but has not yet done so.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.