At least 9 said killed in IDF strike in north Gaza; 2 killed in Lebanon strike
Israel says it targeted terror operatives in Strip, while Palestinians say aid workers, journalists among dead; IDF says Hezbollah member hit in the north
At least nine people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in northern Gaza’s Beit Lahiya on Saturday, Palestinian media reported.
The Shehab news agency cited the Palestinian Journalists Protection Center (PJPC) as saying that three journalists were among the dead.
The IDF confirmed carrying out the strikes, saying it targeted terror operatives “that posed a threat to IDF troops in the area.”
Meanwhile, Lebanese media reported an Israeli drone strike on a car in the southern town of Borj al-Mlouk, located just north of the Israeli border town of Metula. Two people were killed in the strike, Lebanese media said.
The IDF confirmed carrying out that airstrike as well, saying it targeted a Hezbollah operative who was “engaged in terror activity.”
In Gaza, medics said the strike hit a car, with several people critically injured and casualties inside and outside the vehicle.
Witnesses told Reuters that the people in the car were with the Al-Khair Foundation in Beit Lahiya, and that they were accompanied by journalists and photographers at the time of the strike.
The IDF has said in the past that the Al-Khair Foundation, a Muslim non-profit based in Britain and Turkey, is an aid group that transfers funds to terror groups in Gaza “under the guise of humanitarian activity” and that the organization has employed at least one senior Hamas official.
The IDF said it identified “two terrorists operating a drone that posed a threat to IDF troops in the area.” The two operatives were targeted in a strike, and a short while later, “a number of additional terrorists collected the drone operating equipment and entered a vehicle,” the military said.
The group of operatives that had collected the equipment was targeted in a second strike, the IDF added.
One of those killed in the strike was named by Palestinian reports as Mahmoud Isleem, a drone photographer who has worked for Turkey’s Anadolu news agency.
#عاجل | استشهاد الصحفي محمود اسليم جراء استهداف الاحتلال لموقع في بيت لاهيا شمال قطاع غزة. pic.twitter.com/ZOJQIMkWqe
— وكالة شهاب للأنباء (@ShehabAgency) March 15, 2025
In a statement, the Hamas terror group said the strikes were a “blatant violation” of the ceasefire.
Earlier Saturday, the IDF said it carried out a strike against three terror operatives who were spotted trying to plant bombs in the ground in the Netzarim Corridor area of the central Gaza Strip, close to where troops were operating.
Israeli forces are still deployed to a buffer zone along the Gaza border amid the ceasefire, and the IDF has repeatedly warned Palestinians against approaching the area.
In Lebanon, the military said it “struck a Hezbollah terrorist who took part in terrorist activity in the area of Kafr Kila in southern Lebanon.”
عاجل – مسيرة إسرائيلية تستهدف سيارة في بلدة برج الملوك pic.twitter.com/p9kpE4Uxco
— nbnlebanon (@nbntweets) March 15, 2025
The strikes in Lebanon and Gaza come amid ceasefires on both war fronts, but Israel has said it will continue to act against terror operatives who are in breach of the truces and who pose a threat to its forces.
A November 27, 2024, truce in Lebanon largely halted more than a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel. The fighting came after the terror group attacked Israel on October 8, 2023, in support of ally Hamas, which invaded from Gaza a day earlier. The persistent rocket fire from Lebanon displaced some 60,000 Israeli civilians.
Last month, Israel withdrew all its forces from southern Lebanon, except from five strategic points, saying it had received a green light from the US to remain at those posts and citing the need to prevent Hezbollah from returning to the area and threatening Israel.
In Gaza, Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire and hostage release deal that began on January 19, which has seen 33 Israelis returned. Talks are underway to potentially extend the first phase or move to the second stage of the agreement, although Israel has said there could be a return to fighting.
The Times of Israel Community.