Israeli drone fires missiles at civilian car in S. Lebanon, killing leader of Fatah armed wing

BEIRUT, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) — An Israeli drone fired two air-to-surface missiles at a civilian SUV at the southern entrance to the city of Sidon on Wednesday morning, killing a leader in the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the armed wing of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah), Lebanese military sources told Xinhua.
The dead was identified as Khalil Maqdah, a leader of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and also the brother of Fatah commander Munir Maqdah.
Tensions along the Lebanon-Israel border escalated on Oct. 8, 2023, following a barrage of rockets launched by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah toward Israel in solidarity with Hamas’s attack on Israel the day before. Israel then retaliated by firing heavy artillery toward southeastern Lebanon.
The situation escalated further after Israel’s attack on Dahieh in Beirut’s southern suburbs, killing Hezbollah senior military commander Fouad Shokor and seven civilians. Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah threatened a definite and painful response to the Israeli raid at the appropriate time and place. ■