A large explosion after an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on July 20. The war between Israel and the Hamas Islamist movement in the Gaza Strip has been ongoing since October 2023, despite calls for a ceasefire from the international community. (Source: Reuters)

An Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) fired two air-to-ground missiles at a Chevrolet car at the eastern entrance to the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, killing Samer al-Hajj and an unidentified person, unnamed military sources said.

Tensions are running high in Lebanon following Israel's assassination of senior Hezbollah military commander Fouad Shukr last week. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has threatened retaliation.

In a related development, on the same day, August 9, the Al-Qassam Brigade, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, swore allegiance to new political leader Yahya Sinwar.

In a statement on the social network Telegram, the spokesman for the Al-Qassam Brigades, Abu Ubaida, affirmed that the force is ready to carry out the decisions made by Mr. Sinwar.

Mr. Sinwar, the most wanted militant in the Gaza Strip, was appointed as the new political leader of Hamas on August 6 following the assassination of the late leader Ismail Haniyeh in the Iranian capital Tehran in the early hours of July 31.

The whereabouts of this character are currently unknown. Mr. Sinwar has been in hiding for the past 10 months since the Hamas-Israel conflict broke out.

Israeli officials believe that Mr. Sinwar, whom Israel considers the mastermind of the October 7, 2023 attack, is hiding in a vast network of underground tunnels built by Hamas.

On the same day, August 9, the Jerusalem Post reported that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) called on Israel and Hamas to return to the negotiating table next week.

Meanwhile, Britain, France and Germany also called on Israel and Hamas to quickly agree on a ceasefire. The move followed a joint statement by the US, Qatar and Egypt on August 8 calling for the resumption of ceasefire talks in Gaza.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said London fully supported a joint statement from Qatar, Egypt and the United States calling for talks on a ceasefire and hostage release to resume next week.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said the war in Gaza must end, fearing it could spiral into a regional conflict.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also expressed strong support for the call for negotiations made by the US, Egypt and Qatar on August 8.