A commander of the Lebanese Islamist group al-Jamaa al-Islamiya (Assembly of Islam), a Hamas ally, was killed in an Israeli drone strike in eastern Lebanon on Thursday, Lebanese state media and security sources reported.
“Mohammed Hamid Jabarah, from the town of Qaraoun, was killed at 6:30 a.m. local time (03:30 GMT) on Thursday by an Israeli drone strike that targeted his truck,” the state-run National News Agency (NNA) said.
According to the NNA, the entire vehicle was set on fire in the attack.
“Recently, an IAF (Israeli Air Force) aircraft attacked and eliminated the terrorist Mohammed Jabarah, a Hamas operative in Lebanon, in the Beqaa area,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
“Mohammed Jabarah was responsible for carrying out terrorist attacks and rocket launches against the State of Israel, including attacks in cooperation with the terrorist organization Jamaa Islamiya.
“Its elimination reduces the ability of the Hamas terrorist organization to plan and execute attacks against the State of Israel in the northern border area,” the report said.
In June, the Israeli military said it had killed Ayman Ratma, who was responsible for supplying arms to the Palestinian militant groups Hamas and al-Jamaa al-Islamiya in eastern Lebanon.
The militant group initially declined to comment. The organization is close to Hezbollah and Hamas and claims to support the Shiite Hezbollah militia in its fight against Israel.
Since the beginning of the Gaza war, there have been daily military clashes between the Israeli army and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah and other groups in Lebanon. In recent times, the fighting has escalated significantly with casualties on both sides.
