A high-ranking Hamas official, Samer Al-Hajj, was killed in an Israeli drone strike targeting a civilian vehicle in Sidon, a city in southern Lebanon, on Friday.

The attack has sparked significant local outrage, with residents of the Ain al-Helweh Palestinian Refugee Camp staging a march to condemn what they described as "Israel's aggression."

According to reports, the drone strike occurred in the early hours of the day, targeting a vehicle in Sidon. Emergency personnel were seen retrieving a charred body from the vehicle as soldiers secured the area. In a statement, Hamas confirmed the death of Samer Al-Hajj, referring to the incident as "a treacherous Zionist raid."

This is not the first time Israeli drone strikes have targeted Hamas officials in Lebanon. In January 2024, another Israeli drone strike in Beirut resulted in the death of Saleh al-Arouri, a top Hamas leader, along with five others, after three missiles struck the building they were in.

In the aftermath of the attack, the Ain al-Helweh Palestinian Refugee Camp, located near Sidon, witnessed a march by residents who voiced their condemnation of Israel's actions. The situation in southern Lebanon remains tense as the local population reacts to this latest incident of violence. (ILKHA)