Israeli drones on Thursday hit areas in eastern and southern Lebanon, killing two Islamist militants, security sources said.
Israeli drones had targeted two cars one in eastern Lebanon and another one in south Lebanon, killing a commander who works for both the Lebanese Islamist group al-Jamaa al-Islamiya (Assembly of Islam), an ally of Hamas, and the military arm of the Palestinian militant organization in Lebanon’s Bekaa region.
The raid on south Lebanon killed a Hezbollah fighter in Jbal el-Botm in the Tyre district, near Zebqine, the Hezbollah movement said.
State-run National News Agency (NNA) said that Mohammed Hamid Jabarah was was killed at 6:30 am (0330 GMT) “by an Israeli drone attack that targeted his truck,” leading to the vehicle being set ablaze.
“A short while ago, an IAF [Israeli Air Force] aircraft struck and eliminated the terrorist Mohammed Jabarah, a Hamas operative in Lebanon, in the area of Beqaa,” the Israeli army said in a statement.
“Mohammed Jabarah was responsible for carrying out terror attacks and missile launches against the State of Israel, including attacks coordinated with the Jamaa Islamiya terrorist organization.
“His elimination diminishes the capabilities of the Hamas terrorist organization to plan and carry out attacks against the State of Israel in the area of the northern border,” the statement said.
Hamas in a statement mourned Jabarah and described him as a commander.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed in a separate statement that the strike on south Lebanon killed Hasan Ali Mehanna, who was “an operative in Hezbollah’s engineering unit and was involved in numerous attacks against the State of Israel.”
Israeli aircraft on Thursday hit the village of Ain el-Tineh in the Western Bekaa, security sources said.
Earlier on Thursday, the Israeli army fired heavy machine guns at the border town of al-Wazzani, they said, stressing there were no casualties.
According to Lebanese security sources in south Lebanon who are observing the situation near the border with Israel, Israeli strikes seemed to intensify Thursday, although Hezbollah attacks had decreased over the past two days.
The group on Thursday only claimed that they hit a surveillance equipment tower in the Hadb Yarine post and in Metula in north Israel.
In June, the Israeli army said it had killed Ayman Ratma, who was responsible for weapons supplies for Hamas and al-Jamaa al-Islamiya in eastern Lebanon.
The militant group did not comment initially. The organization is close to Hezbollah and Hamas and claims to support the Shiite Hezbollah militia’s fight against Israel.
Since the beginning of the Gaza war, there have been daily military confrontations between the Israeli army and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah and other groups in Lebanon. Most recently, the fighting has escalated significantly with casualties on both sides.
Source Agencies
