Israeli airstrikes kill Hamas, Islamic Group officials in Lebanon

BEIRUT -- The Israeli army on Saturday killed a Hamas leader and an official of the Islamic Group in its airstrikes in Lebanon.

An airstrike on a house in the Beddawi camp north of Lebanon's northern city of Tripoli killed Hamas leader Said Atallah Ali and three of his family members, the National News Agency (NNA) reported.

The raid on the Beddawi camp triggered panic and displacement among camp residents who feared further attacks, according to the report.

A separate Israeli airstrike on the village of al-Rafid, eastern Lebanon, killed an official of the Islamic Group, Ali al-Hajj, according to anonymous Lebanese military sources.

An Israeli drone struck his house in the town of Rashaya al-Wadi in eastern Lebanon with two air-to-ground missiles, killing al-Hajj and destroying his home, said the sources.

The Islamic Group has not commented on the incident.

The group is an Islamic political organization with a military wing called the al-Fajr Forces, which has recently carried out military operations against the Israeli army.

Since Sept 23, the Israeli army has been conducting an intensive air attack on Lebanon in a dangerous escalation with Hezbollah.

Hezbollah and the Israeli army have been exchanging fire across the Lebanese-Israeli border since last year amid fears of a broader conflict as the war between Hamas and Israel continues in the Gaza Strip.