Middle East updates: Israel starts new Khan Younis offensive

An Israeli drone strike on a car in southern Lebanon has killed a Hamas official, Lebanese state media reported on Friday.

The strike, on the southern edges of the Lebanese port city of Sidon killed Samer al-Haj, a Hamas security official who works in the nearby refugee camp for Palestinians, Ein el-Hilweh. Two other civilians were wounded in the attack, Lebanese state news agency NNA reported.

In recent months, several Hamas officials have been killed in Lebanon in airstrikes attributed to Israel.

Most of the hostilities have occurred in the border strip between Israel and Lebanon.

But some Israeli strikes have targeted senior figures in Hezbollah, Hamas and other groups further north.

The Israeli military said Friday that it had killed two members of the Hezbollah militant group in the south of Lebanon, while Hezbollah confirmed the deaths of at least two of its members.

In separate statements on Friday, Hezbollah said two of its fighters were "martyred on the road to Jerusalem" — a phrase the organization uses to refer to fighters killed by Israeli fire.

The information could not be independently verified.

Hezbollah, in support of Hamas, has traded fire with Israeli forces since the Hamas militant group's October 7 attacks on Israel sparked war in the region.

But fears of a wider regional war have soared after an Israeli strike on Beirut last week killed a top Hezbollah military commander and the death of Hamas' political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran, which Tehran has blamed on Israel. The killing of Haniyeh was met with vows of revenge from Iranian leaders.

Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the US, Germany and other governments — but endorsed by Iran. The EU, meanwhile, lists Hezbollah's armed wing as a terrorist organization.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Friday backed a joint statement from the leaders of US, Qatar and Egypt calling for a cease-fire and hostages talks on August 15.

"I am deeply concerned about the situation in the Middle East and I support the call by President Biden, President Al Sisi [sic] and Emir Al Thani to start the implementation of the cease-fire and hostages-release deal. It's time to bring relief both to the hostages and people of Gaza," said Scholz, referring to US President Joe Biden, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Qatari Emir Tamim al-Thani. 

Israel on Friday said it would send a delegation to the negotiations on August 15, according to Israeli media reports.   

Palestinians fled parts of the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis on Friday after Israel dropped leaflets calling for evacuations. 

The leaflets told Palestinians to leave eastern parts of Khan Younis, saying "Hamas and terrorist organizations continue to launch rockets from your areas." Israel claims that intelligence suggests the presence of "terrorists and terror infrastructure" in the area.

Much of Khan Younis was already ravaged by fighting earlier in the year. Gaza faces limited food, medical supplies and clean water amid an Israeli blockade.

Although Israel maintains its blockade is for security reasons, international organizations such as the United Nations have called the blockade on Gaza a form of collective punishment. The humanitarian crisis has even sparked fears of a polio epidemic in Gaza after the disease was detected in the wastewater there. 

Tensions have skyrocketed in the Middle East after the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran on July 31. Iran has blamed Israel for the killing, while Israel has not claimed responsibility. 

Following the killing of Haniyeh, Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar became the chief of the group's political bureau. Israel had earlier posted a grainy video purportedly showing Sinwar in tunnels under Gaza.   

Hamas is the militant-Islamist movement in charge of the Gaza Strip. The US, Germany, the EU and others consider it a terrorist organization.

Israel launched its war against Hamas in Gaza following the October 7 terror attacks. During the attacks, Hamas went into Israel and killed some 1,200 people, and also took hundreds of hostages.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry has said almost 40,000 Palestinians have died in Israel's Gaza operation since October 7. Although Israel has cast doubt on these casualty figures, the numbers are considered broadly reliable by the UN and other international organizations.    

wd/rmt (Reuters, AP, AFP, dpa)