Hamas delegation in Cairo to discuss Gaza ceasefire

Israel claims targeting Hezbollah chief of staff in Beirut strike

CAIRO/GAZA:  A Hamas delegation was in Cairo on Sunday to meet with Gaza war mediators, an Egyptian security source and a Hamas source said, as both Israel and the Palestinian militant group continue to trade accusations of ceasefire violations.

The Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the delegation would be discussing Israel’s “continued violation of the ceasefire agreement”.

Egypt, Qatar and the U.S. have been mediating between Hamas and Israel, securing the ceasefire that came into effect last month.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said the country’s military killed five senior Hamas members on Saturday after a fighter was sent into Israeli-controlled Gaza territory to attack Israeli soldiers there.

Health officials in Gaza had said Israeli air strikes killed at least 20 people on Saturday.

The military on Sunday said a local Hamas commander was among those killed in the Saturday strikes.

Meanwhile, Israel on Sunday claimed it had carried out an air strike targeting Hezbollah’s chief of staff in Beirut, leaving a smoking hole in the side of an apartment building and debris scattered in the street.

Lebanon’s health ministry reported at least one person was killed in the strike and 21 people were wounded, calling it a “preliminary toll”.

The strike took place in Beirut’s southern suburbs, a densely populated area where Hezbollah holds sway, and caused “injuries and significant damage”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office claimed he had given the orders for the attack, the latest against a target in Lebanon, despite a year-long ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

“A short while ago, in the heart of Beirut, the IDF (Israeli military) attacked the Hezbollah chief of staff, ” the premier’s office said in a statement. “Israel is determined to act to achieve its objectives everywhere and at all times.”

The strike hit the third and fourth floors of a nine-storey building, with ambulances gathered around it and rescuers inspecting the apartments.

Three missiles were fired at the building in the Haret Hreik area, damaging vehicles and other nearby structures.

A senior US official said Israel did not notify the United States in advance about its strike, an Axios reporter said on Sunday in a post on X.

The official said the administration was informed immediately after the strike and a second senior US official said Washington knew for days that Israel was planning to escalate strikes in Lebanon, the post read.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called on the international community to intervene firmly to stop Israeli attacks on the country after Sunday’s deadly strike.

In a statement, Aoun said Lebanon “reiterates its call to the international community to assume its responsibility and intervene firmly and seriously to stop the attacks on Lebanon and its people”. Monitoring Desk