A senior Hamas official survived an Israeli assassination attempt deep inside Lebanon yesterday, in the latest example of Israel’s changing tactics that are taking the battle far away from the frontline. 

The drone strike was the second this week to target cars travelling far away from Lebanon’s border with Israel – with the other one killing a Hezbollah operative. 

The target of yesterday’s strike was Basel Salah, according to AFP and Israeli media, who was charged with recruiting and managing members of Hamas, including in the West Bank. 

He is believed to have been close to Saleh Al Arouri, the deputy chairman of Hamas’ political arm, who was killed in Beirut. The attack was just 22 miles away from Beirut and signals that Israel’s use of targeted assassinations deep inside Lebanon has become a military strategy. 

The spiralling attacks in Lebanon came as the Iranian foreign minister was in town yesterday meeting with government officials and the Hezbollah chief. He told reporters after meeting his Lebanese counterpart that after four months of war, Israel and its backers had not achieved “anything tangible.”

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