Saeed Atallah Ali, a member of Hamas’ armed wing, al-Qassam brigades, was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. Three of his family members were also killed in the attack, Reuters reported.
“The Hamas movement mourns the leader of the al-Qassam Brigades, Saeed Atallah Ali, and three of his family members as a result of the bombing of his home in the Palestinian refugee camp in Dawi in Tripoli in northern Lebanon,” Hamas media reported.
With his killing, Israel has eliminated yet another top leader of the militant group in recent weeks, raising concerns that the escalating conflict in the Middle East could erupt into a full-blown war.
The Jewish nation has been carrying out continuous strikes in Lebanon as over 2,000 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes so far. Furthermore, Israel also began ground incursions into Lebanon to target Hezbollah settlements to wipe out the militant group.
In its airstrikes on Hezbollah headquarters in Beirut, Israel eliminated Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah chief who had been leading the militant group for the last 32 years. Reports also surfaced, claiming Israel targeted an underground bunker in Lebanon where Hashem Safieddine, regarded as Nasrallah’s successor, was holding a meeting with other Hezbollah leaders.
In July this year, Israel claimed it eliminated Mohammed Deif, believed to be the mastermind behind Hamas’ October 7 attacks on Israel. Deif was killed after fighter jets struck in the area of Khan Yunis in Gaza on July 13 after an intelligence assessment. The elusive Deif had survived seven Israeli assassination attempts.
Hamas’s political chief Ismail Haniyeh has been assassinated in Iran’s capital, Tehran. He was in the capital to attend the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian. He, along with a bodyguard, were killed after a guest house they were staying in was struck by a missile. However, Israel hasn’t claimed responsibility for the attack.
Notably, Iran launched nearly 200 missiles at Israel following the killing of Hassan Nasrallah. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while delivering his first Friday sermon in nearly five years, called the attack on Israel “legal and legitimate” and said that the Jewish nation would not “last long”.