Senior Hamas commander allegedly still alive after Israeli strike, according to Palestinian movement and DFLP

While the Israeli army announced Tuesday that it had killed Mehran Moustapha Baajour — described as “a key figure” in Hamas — in a drone strike near Tripoli, sources within the Palestinian movement and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) told L’Orient-Le Jour on Wednesday that the senior commander is allegedly still alive.

The Lebanese Health Ministry said the Israeli strikes — two in succession — killed three people and wounded 13. However, Hamas, which typically confirms the deaths of its members, has made no announcement regarding casualties in Lebanon.

The drone strikes targeted a 4x4 vehicle Tuesday on the Beddawi Airounieh–Nefaa road in the Zgharta region, near the Beddawi Palestinian refugee camp north of Tripoli. The 4x4 and a second car caught fire.

A Hamas source, contacted by L’Orient-Le Jour, rejected the Israeli army’s version of events, saying “none of its members was targeted.” A DFLP official separately confirmed that Baajour had survived the attack. “He was targeted in the strike but not killed,” the source said.

The official offered two possible explanations: “Either he wasn’t in the vehicle at the time of the strike, or he managed to escape between the two hits.”

On Tuesday, the Israeli army said killing Baajour would be “a severe blow to Hamas operations in Lebanon,” claiming he held a “central command role” and helped build Hamas’ military presence in the country, including weapons procurement through ties with other armed groups.