IDF confirms strike on vehicle in east Lebanon, says target was Hamas-linked operative

The Israeli military confirms carrying out an airstrike in eastern Lebanon’s Majdal Anjar, close to the border with Syria, killing a top al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya operative who worked alongside Hamas.

The IDF says the drone strike targeted and killed Sharhabil Sayed. Hamas has claimed Sayed as a member, rather than an affiliate.

Sayed, according to the IDF, was a senior member of al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya who “led and advanced numerous terror attacks from Lebanese territory against Israel in [Lebanon’s] eastern region in the recent period… in cooperation with the Lebanon branch of the Hamas terrorist organization.”

Hamas in an official statement claimed Sayed as a commander in the terror group.

The IDF says the strike was aimed at “causing a blow to the organization’s abilities to advance and carry out terror operations that it had planned in the recent period and in the near future against the State of Israel on the northern border.”

It publishes footage of the strike.

צה"ל תקף וחיסל מוקדם יותר היום באמצעות כלי טיס של חיל האוויר במרחב מג'דל ענג'ר את המחבל שרחביל עלי אלסיד, בכיר בארגון הטרור הג'מאעה האסלאמית בלבנון >> pic.twitter.com/dVcwRVSpgb

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 17, 2024