Tensions flared across Lebanon on Tuesday as Israeli occupation forces launched deadly drone strikes in both northern and southern regions of the country, killing at least five people and injuring over a dozen others.

The strikes, widely condemned as a violation of Lebanese sovereignty, came amid ongoing regional escalations and sensitive political discussions between Beirut and Washington.

In the northern city of Tripoli, the Israeli army claimed responsibility for an airstrike targeting what it described as “a senior Hamas figure.” According to Israeli media reports, including Channel 14, the alleged target was Mehran Mustafa Bajour, said to be head of the planning department in Hamas’s construction unit.

However, a senior source in the Hamas Movement in Lebanon swiftly refuted the Israeli narrative, telling Quds Press that “the Zionist enemy’s claims of assassinating one of its leaders in northern Lebanon are false,” asserting that the targeted individual had survived the attempt. The source suggested the Israeli operation had failed in its intended mission.

The Lebanese Ministry of Public Health’s Emergency Operations Center confirmed that the Israeli drone strike in Al-Ayruniyah, Tripoli, resulted in the deaths of three civilians and injured thirteen others, most of whom were reportedly bystanders passing through the area at the time of the attack.

Simultaneously in southern Lebanon, Israeli drones conducted two additional strikes. One targeted a vehicle in Deir Kifa, killing Ali Abdul Hassan Haidar, identified by Israel as a commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force. The Israeli military accused Haidar of orchestrating operations against Israeli forces, including involvement in the so-called “Galilee invasion plan,” and claimed he had been working to restore Hezbollah’s infrastructure in southern Lebanon.

Roughly two hours later, another drone strike hit a motorcycle in Beit Lif, also in the south, resulting in the martyrdom of another Hezbollah fighter. The identities of all the victims from these southern strikes have yet to be confirmed by Hezbollah or Lebanese authorities.

Lebanese media and local observers have condemned the Israeli actions as a dangerous escalation and a breach of the UN-brokered ceasefire agreement. Tuesday’s attacks occurred mere hours after Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met with US envoy Thomas Barrack to discuss possible parallel measures involving an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese territory and the controversial topic of Hezbollah’s disarmament.

The timing of the strikes has raised suspicions among analysts, with many interpreting Israel’s actions as an attempt to sabotage diplomatic dialogue and inflame tensions on the northern front, amid its ongoing war against Gaza and mounting internal pressure.

No official statements have yet been released by Hezbollah or the Lebanese government regarding the Israeli assassinations, though further reactions are expected in the coming hours. (ILKHA)