A member of Hezbollah’s drone unit, who moonlighted as an academic, was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut yesterday evening, says Lt. Col. Ella Waweya, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokeswoman.
Murtada Hussein Sarour was targeted near the Lebanese University in Beirut.
Waweya says Sarour was a member of Hezbollah’s aerial forces, also known as Unit 127, which is responsible for explosive-laden drone attacks on Israel and flying surveillance drones to collect intelligence. He is also the brother of Muhammad Hussein Sarour, the former commander of Unit 127, who was killed by Israel in September 2024, she says.
“Alongside his activity in Hezbollah, Murtada Hussein Sarour worked as a lecturer in chemistry at the Lebanese University in Beirut. Like him, there are many other operatives who, alongside their activity in Hezbollah as centers of knowledge in production fields, also work as lecturers in various Lebanese universities,” Waweya says.
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Friday, March 13, 2026
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
