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The mechanism of intravascular hemolysis primarily involves the lysis of red blood cells (RBCs) occurring within the blood circulation, and this process is often mediated by antibody activity. Intravascular hemolysis typically occurs when antibodies bind to antigens on the RBC surface, marking them for destruction. This can happen in conditions such as hemolytic transfusion reactions or autoimmune hemolytic anemia.

When antibodies coat the RBCs, they can trigger complement activation, leading to the formation of a membrane attack complex that causes cell lysis. Alternatively, macrophages or other immune cells can recognize and remove these antibody-coated cells from circulation. Thus, the correct answer represents the key role of antibodies in causing the destruction of RBCs while they are still within the bloodstream, which is characteristic of intravascular hemolysis.

The other options describe different processes that do not represent intravascular hemolysis specifically. Infections can cause RBC lysis, but this is not exclusive to intravascular processes. Destruction in the liver relates more to extravascular hemolysis where macrophages in the spleen or liver remove damaged or old RBCs. Lastly, neutrophil-mediated phagocytosis is not a hallmark of