Israel says it killed senior member of Lebanese terror group aiding Hezbollah, Hamas

The Israel Defense Forces says an overnight strike in southern Lebanon killed a key member of the Jamaa al-Islamiya terror group.

The army says the terrorist, who is not named, had “advanced [terror plots] against Israeli territory in the past.”

The strike took out a building in the town of Habbariyeh some five kilometers (3 miles) from the border with Israel.

It says the figure was killed “along with other terrorists who had been in the building.”

Two security sources told Reuters earlier Wednesday that seven people were killed in a strike on Jamaa al-Islamiya’s emergency and relief center in Habbariyeh.

On Tuesday, Jamaa al-Islamiya head Sheikh Mohammed Takkoush told the Associated Press the group was closely coordinating with both Hezbollah and Hamas along the border with Israel, where they have claimed responsibility for several attacks over the past months.

“Part of (the attacks against Israeli forces) were in coordination with Hamas, which coordinates with Hezbollah,” he said, adding that direct cooperation with Hezbollah “is on the rise and this is being reflected in the field.” He did not elaborate further.

It carries out attacks against Israel mainly from the southern city of Sidon where the group once enjoyed wide influence.

The group is one of Lebanon’s main Sunni factions but has kept a low profile politically over the years. It has one member in Lebanon’s 128-seat legislature. Elections within the group in 2022 brought its leadership closer to Hamas.

Two members of the group were killed in an apparent Israeli strike in Beirut on January 2 that killed top Hamas terrorist Saleh al-Arouri. Three others were killed in an Israeli strike earlier this month, Takkoush said.