Two killed in Israeli strike in southern Lebanon, including Hamas official

Two people in southern Lebanon were killed in an Israeli air strike, including at least one member of Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

According to the official Lebanese National News Agency (NNA), two rockets fired from an Israeli drone hit a vehicle in the city of Sidon on Friday killing two people inside and injuring two passersby who were transferred to a nearest hospital in the city.

NNA reported that one of the victims was identified as Samer al-Haj, a Hamas official in the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp, located in the south of Sidon.

Local sources told Anadolu that the other victim in the vehicle was likely al-Haj's escort.

Fears have been on the rise of a potential full-blown war between Israel and Lebanese group Hezbollah amid a months-long exchange of cross-border fire, especially with Hezbollah threatening military retaliation after the assassination of its top commander Fuad Shukr in an Israeli air strike on Beirut on July 30.

The escalation comes against the backdrop of an Israeli onslaught against Gaza which has killed nearly 40,000 people since last October following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.