BEIRUT, Lebanon, July  8, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Lebanon said three people were
killed Tuesday in a strike near Tripoli that the Israeli military said targeted
a Hamas militant, the first on the north since a November ceasefire with
Hezbollah.

The strike came amid ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas in
Qatar and as five Israeli soldiers were killed in combat in the Gaza Strip, one
of the deadliest days for Israeli forces in the Palestinian territory this year.
Israel has kept up its strikes on Lebanon despite the November truce,
mainly hitting what it says are Hezbollah targets but also occasionally
targeting Hamas.

"A short while ago, the (Israeli military) struck a key Hamas terrorist in
the area of Tripoli in Lebanon," the Israeli army said in a statement, without
providing further details.

In an updated toll, Lebanon's health ministry said the strike on a vehicle
"killed three people and wounded 13" in an area that is close to a Palestinian
refugee camp.

An AFP photographer saw a burnt out car surrounded by the emergency
services and onlookers.

Hamas claimed attacks on Israel from Lebanon during more than a year of
cross-border hostilities launched by Hezbollah in October 2023 in support of
its Palestinian ally.

Israel has struck Hamas operatives in Lebanon, including since the
ceasefire.

In May, Hamas said one of its commanders was killed in a strike on the
southern city of Sidon as Israel said it targeted "the head of operations in
Hamas's Western Brigade in Lebanon".

Israeli strikes on south Lebanon remain common, but raids on the north have
been rare.

In October, Hamas said one of its operatives was killed along with his wife
and two daughters in a strike on their home in Beddawi, a Palestinian refugee
camp near Tripoli. Israel's military said it targeted "a senior member of
Hamas's military wing in Lebanon".

In May, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas visited Beirut for talks on
disarming militants in refugee camps across Lebanon as the Beirut government
seeks to impose its authority across all its territory.

The Israeli military said earlier Tuesday that it had killed two Hezbollah
operatives in strikes on south Lebanon a day earlier.