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Middle East conflict

Lebanon's army detains two Hamas senior officials in Saida — media

The identities of the detainees were not disclosed

BEIRUT, April 16. /TASS The Lebanese army’s special unit conducted an operation on Tuesday in the southern town of Saida, detaining two senior members of the radical Palestinian Hamas movement, according to the Janoubia news website.

The identities of the detainees were not disclosed.

According to the outlet, this is not the first instance of Palestinian figures being arrested in connection with armed attacks against Israel launched from southern Lebanese territory. Earlier, the Lebanese Armed Forces shut down six military bases belonging to Palestinian factions in the Beqaa Valley and along the Syrian border, seizing equipment and ammunition stored at those locations.

The operation comes amid escalating tensions in the region. On April 4, an Israeli Air Force strike targeted Saida, killing Hassan Farhat, a Hamas commander in southern Lebanon. Earlier this year, on January 2, Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of the Hamas politburo, was killed in an Israeli drone strike on the southern outskirts of Beirut.

Lebanon is currently home to 12 Palestinian refugee camps operating under internal autonomy, with an estimated Palestinian population of around 450,000.

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Palestine Lebanon

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