An assassination attempt against a Hamas military leader last month has sparked speculation as to whether Israel and Hamas have opened a northern front in Lebanon in their ongoing struggle. On Jan. 23, Turkey handed over Ahmad Beitiye to Lebanese authorities for suspected involvement in the Jan. 14 car bombing that targeted Hamas leader Mohammed Hamdan in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, leaving him with an injured leg. Israel did not comment on the assassination attempt, but Hamas accused it of being behind it.

It has become customary for Israel to remain silent after conducting assassinations outside the Palestinian territories — perhaps to escape the immediate wrath of the countries whose laws it has violated — but it will sometimes claim responsibility years later. In December 2016, Hamas accused Israel of killing Mohammed Alzoari, a Tunisian with ties to the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing. Assassins shot him at point-blank range in Sfax, Tunisia. Israel is also believed to have killed Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a Hamas military official, in Dubai in 2010. Hamas accuses Israel of having killed another military official, Izz ad-Din Sheikh Khalil, in Damascus in 2004.

A Hamas official residing in Lebanon told Al-Monitor on the condition of anonymity, “The assassination attempt [against Hamdan] followed meetings between the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance [i.e., Hezbollah and Hamas] in Beirut over the past weeks, during which they reviewed next possible steps for confronting Israel and the possibility of a broad Israeli war on the Gaza front as well as in Lebanon and Syria, in addition to developing a unified resistance strategy.” He added, however, “Although we want to show Israel that Hamas is not easy prey, we do not want our fight to relocate to other areas.”

Hamdan is not particularly well known in media and political circles beyond also being known as Abu Hamza. A Palestinian security source revealed to Agence France-Presse in mid-January that Hamdan is a security official and high-ranking military leader in Hamas. That Mohammad Sadiq Fadhli, Iran's deputy ambassador to Lebanon, visited him in the hospital on Jan. 20 speaks to Hamdan's importance within Hamas.