Hamas on Sunday blamed Israel for an alleged assassination attempt against Mohammed Hamdan, one of its Lebanon-based operatives, in a car bombing in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon.
Official sources in Lebanon said the bomb had been planted in Hamdan's car and exploded as he was about to get in. The car was destroyed and witnesses said Hamdan appeared to have suffered wounds to his legs. He was taken to a hospital in Sidon for treatment.
A statement from Hamas confirmed that Hamdan was a member of the group, without detailing his role, and said "initial indications" suggested Israel was behind the bombing.
"The Zionist enemy is the only one benefiting from attacking the stability of Lebanon," the statement said. "We must let the authorities in Lebanon finish their investigation and get to the criminals."
Ali Barakeh, a Hamas official in Lebanon, later said, "We think that this message carries the fingerprints of the Zionist enemy.
"The enemy wants to move the camera from inside Palestine to the outside because there is an intifada [uprising] going on in Palestine against their measures and the decision of the U.S. President [Donald] Trump. We are used to this enemy moving the battle to a different playground ... and we assure you that our battle will remain inside occupied Palestine and against the Zionist enemy.''
The Hezbollah-affiliated Al-Manar television described Hamdan as an important figure in Hamas, saying he appeared to have a security role and was being tracked by Israel. Al-Mayadeen, another Hezbollah-linked news network, also accused Israel of trying to assassinate him.
Mounir al-Maqdah, a Lebanon-based Fatah official, said Hamdan was involved in operations in Israel.
"The incident has Israeli fingerprints all over it," he said.
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman dismissed the allegations.
"Every day there are hundreds of explosions and assassinations in the Middle East, and every time they try to pin them on Israel," he said.
According to Arab media reports, the target of the assassination attempt was actually Osama Hamdan, one of the group's senior officials and a close associate of Hamas strongman Khaled Mashaal.
Osama Hamdan, 53, has solidified his place in the organization in the wake of Syria's and Qatar's decisions to expel Hamas and the group's decision to set up its new headquarters in Beirut.
Despite the widespread condemnation of Israel, Lebanese officials opposing Hezbollah and Iran's attempts to cement its grip on the country harshly criticized Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran.
"The activities of terrorist organizations and their emissaries in the country in an attempt to turn Lebanon into their center of activity, radically and dangerously affect the stability of the Lebanese government," one official said.
Lebanese media quoted officials affiliated with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who attempted to resign in November after allegedly being marked for assassination by Hezbollah, as calling for Hamas representatives to be expelled from Lebanon and for Beirut to prohibit their headquarters from functioning in Beirut.
