Earlier in the day, a source told Sputnik that the Hamas commander was killed in the Israeli strike.
"A short while ago ... IAF aircraft struck in the area of Sidon in Lebanon, and eliminated the terrorist Samer Mahmoud al-Haj, a senior commander in the Hamas terrorist organization in Lebanon, who was responsible for advancing terror attacks and projectile launches from Lebanon toward Israeli territory," the IDF said in a joint statement with the Israel Securities Authority (ISA).
Israel carried out dual assassinations last week of leaders of the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah and the Palestinian movement Hamas in Beirut and Tehran, respectively. Iran and Hezbollah are expected to launch retaliatory attacks on Israel.
NBC News reported, citing an unnamed Israeli official, that the Jewish state was preparing for a potential prolonged attack by both Hamas and Hezbollah, keen to avenge the deaths of their leaders.