IDF captures ‘senior’ Islamist terror operative in south Lebanon raid

IDF troops captured a “senior” member of the al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group) terror organization during an overnight raid in southern Lebanon, the military says.

According to the IDF, the operative was nabbed late Sunday by troops of the 210th “Bashan” Regional Division from a building in the Mount Dov area near the border.

The military says it had collected intelligence on the operative in recent weeks, which led it to launch the raid.

“The terrorist was detained and transferred for further interrogation within Israeli territory. In addition, weapons were located in the building where the terrorist was arrested,” the army says.

The IDF does not provide further details on the operative, other than describing them as a “senior” member of the terror group.

Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya is a Sunni faction that forms part of the broader Muslim Brotherhood political network. The armed wing of the group, the al-Fajr Forces, established in the 1980s, repeatedly targeted Israel from Lebanon amid the 2023-2024 war with Hezbollah, often working in conjunction with the Shiite Lebanese terror group.

The IDF says that al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya “advanced throughout the war and continues to attempt to advance terror activities against the State of Israel and its citizens in the northern sector.”

The military has also previously accused the group of closely cooperating with the Hezbollah and Hamas terror groups in both Lebanon and Syria, and maintaining military sites in southern Lebanon and infrastructure along the Syria-Lebanon border and in southern Syria.