A military leader belonging to the Hamas-aligned Lebanese Islamist group Jamaa Islamiya was killed in an Israeli airstrike near Beirut on Tuesday, according to a security official. The incident is part of ongoing hostilities, as Israeli forces have been conducting regular strikes in Lebanon despite a ceasefire agreement reached in November with the militant group Hezbollah. This truce aimed to end over a year of escalating conflict, which included two months of intense warfare.
The Israeli airstrike reportedly targeted a vehicle near Damour, a coastal town approximately 20 kilometers south of the Lebanese capital. Rescuers recovered the body of the victim from the wreckage following the strike. In a statement, Jamaa Islamiya identified the deceased as Hussein Atoui, who was described as “an academic leader and university professor.” The group asserted that the drone strike hit his car while he was en route to his workplace in Beirut.
A security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Atoui was associated with Jamaa Islamiya’s armed faction, known as the Al-Fajr Forces. An AFP photographer captured images of the charred remains of the vehicle at the strike site, where the Lebanese army had secured the area and forensic teams conducted investigations.
Jamaa Islamiya is closely linked to both Hamas and Hezbollah and has previously claimed responsibility for various attacks against Israel prior to the ceasefire established on November 27. Furthermore, Lebanon’s health ministry reported that another Israeli strike in the Tyre district of southern Lebanon resulted in one additional fatality.
As part of the terms of the ceasefire, Hezbollah was expected to relocate its fighters north of the Litani River and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in southern Lebanon. Israel, on the other hand, was to withdraw its forces from the area, although it currently maintains troops in five positions deemed strategically important.
Recently, Israel announced the targeting of two senior Hezbollah members in airstrikes within Lebanese territory. In response to unclaimed rocket fire directed at Israel in late March, the Lebanese army reported having arrested several suspects, including three members of Hamas, as part of an ongoing investigation into the incident.
