There was no immediate comment from Israel.

A senior Hamas official survived an Israeli assassination attempt in Lebanon on Saturday, a Palestinian security source told AFP, and rescuers reported two civilians were killed in the attack south of Beirut.

Since the war between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas organization broke out in the Gaza Strip on October 7, Israeli troops and the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, a Hamas ally, have exchanged fire almost every day.

But violence between Israel and Lebanon has been largely contained to the border, and Saturday’s attack was the second-deadliest attack from far from the border in four months of hostilities.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said Israeli forces crashed a car in the coastal town of Jadra, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the border.

Palestinian sources, who requested anonymity due to security concerns, said the attack “was a failed attempt to assassinate senior officials of the (Hamas) movement.”

An official from Lebanon’s Risala Scout Association told AFP that two civilians were killed. The association operates rescue teams and is affiliated with the Amal movement of the Hezbollah alliance.

The official identified them as a vegetable vendor and a Syrian man on a motorcycle who happened to be nearby.

There was no immediate comment from Israel.

An AFP photographer at the scene saw a damaged car and a charred motorcycle nearby, and blood was everywhere at the strike site near Jatra beach.

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