Hamas leader in Lebanon killed; Strike hits central Beirut

The deputy Secretary General of Hezbollah, Naem Qassem, is set to make a speech shortly.

It’s the first major public comment from the militant group since the killing of former longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli attack. The Iran-backed group is yet to announce his replacement.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine has said that three of its leaders were killed in an Israeli air strike on central Beirut’s Cola district.

It listed Mohammed Abdel Aal, Emad Odeh, and Abdel Rahman Abdel Aal among the deceased.

The leftist PFLP is designated a terrorist group by the U.S., but it is also a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization, a coalition recognized by the United Nations as the official representative of the Palestinians. 

Israeli officials are yet to comment on the strike on the Cola district.

An apparent Israeli airstrike struck a building in the central Beirut neighborhood of Cola last night, according to videos posted to social media.

The videos, geolocated by NBC News, show damage to the multi-story building as debris is seen on the ground below. People are also seen gathering around the structure as multiple ambulances converge on the area.

It was not immediately clear whether there were deaths or injuries related to the reported strike, nor was it clear that the strike was intentionally aimed at Cola.

Cola, a stone’s throw from downtown Beirut, is known as a busy neighborhood and is the location of a bus station. This would be the first Israeli strike on the heart of the Lebanese capital during this round of conflict.

Hamas says Fateh Sherif Abu Al-Amin, the group’s leader in Lebanon, has been killed in an Israeli air strike in the country’s south.

In a statement posted on Telegram, the Palestinian militant group said Al-Amin was killed alongside his wife and children “in their home in the (Al-Bas) camp.”

While Hamas is based in Gaza, it has long had a presence in Lebanon.