TEL AVIV – Israel has stepped up its attacks in Lebanon, killing a Hamas official in the coastal city of Sidon, as the region continues to anticipate Hezbollah’s retaliation for the assassination of its commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut earlier this month.

An Israeli drone raid in the coastal city of Sidon on Friday, about 50km (30 miles) from Lebanon’s southern border, killed Hamas official Samer al-Hajj – who was based in the neighbouring Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp.

The attack also injured two civilians, according to Lebanese media outlets. Hamas hailed al-Hajj as a “martyr” on Friday. The Israeli military described him as a commander who was responsible for attacks on Israel from Lebanon.

Lebanon National News Agency reported that impromptu protests broke out in Sidon on Friday to denounce the killing of al-Hajj. Israel also carried out attacks in border towns and villages, including in Kfar Kila and Meiss el-Jabal, Markaba. The Israeli raids come as Hezbollah officials say that the group will respond to the assassination of Shukr, who was killed along with several civilians in an Israeli air strike in Beirut late in July. Iran is also expected to launch its own retaliatory attack against Israel for the killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. At the same time, Hezbollah has continued its near-daily clashes with Israel across the border. (Al Jazeera)…[+]