UPDATE – Israel claims to have killed Hamas member in Lebanon airstrike

UPDATES WITH HAMAS CONFIRMATION, CHANGES DECK

By Abdelraouf Arnaout and Ahmed Asmar

JERUSALEM / ANKARA (AA) – The Israeli army claimed on Wednesday to have killed a Hamas member in an airstrike in southern Lebanon.

A military statement said Khalid Ahmed Al-Ahmed was killed in the strike that targeted the coastal city of Sidon.

The army claimed that Ahmed was Hamas’ chief of operations in Lebanon’s western sector, accusing him of being responsible for weapons transfer and attacks against Israeli targets.

The Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing, confirmed that Al-Ahmed was assassinated in an Israeli strike in Sidon.

The Lebanese state news agency NNA, citing a health ministry statement, confirmed that one person was killed in an Israeli drone strike on a car in Sidon.

There was no immediate comment from Lebanese authorities on the Israeli strike.

A fragile ceasefire has been in place in Lebanon since November, ending months of cross-border warfare between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah, which escalated into a full-scale conflict in September.

Lebanese authorities have reported nearly 3,000 Israeli violations of the truce, including the deaths of nearly 200 people and the injuries of around 500 others.

Under the ceasefire deal, Israel was supposed to fully withdraw from southern Lebanon by Jan. 26, but the deadline was extended to Feb. 18 after Israel refused to comply. It still maintains a military presence at five border outposts.