Hamas Says Its Member Killed In Israeli Strike In South Lebanon

Palestinian group Hamas said one of its members was killed in an Israeli strike in south Lebanon on Wednesday that state media said killed two people.

Since war erupted between Hamas and Israel in October, its Lebanese ally Hezbollah has exchanged near-daily fire with Israel, while Palestinian groups in Lebanon have also claimed cross-border attacks.

Hamas said a member of its armed wing in Lebanon, Hadi Mustafa from the Palestinian refugee camp of Rashidiyeh, close to the coastal city of Tyre, was killed in the strike.

An AFP photographer saw the mangled wreck of a car engulfed by flames near the camp.

Lebanon's official National News Agency said a Syrian passer-by was also killed.

A strike in January, which a US defence official said was carried out by Israel, killed Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Aruri and six others in Hezbollah's south Beirut stronghold -- the most high-profile Hamas figure to be killed during the war.

In February, security sources told AFP a senior Hamas officer had survived an assassination attempt south of Beirut.

Israel has struck targets increasingly deep into Lebanese territory in response to cross-border fire. Israeli strikes against Hezbollah targets in eastern Lebanon killed two people on Tuesday and one on Monday, security sources said.

Since hostilities began, at least 321 people have been killed in Lebanon, mainly Hezbollah fighters but also including 55 civilians, according to an AFP tally.

In Israel, at least 10 soldiers and seven civilians have been killed in the cross-border exchanges, the military says.

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