Hamas confirms senior military commander assassinated in Lebanon
The military wing of Hamas has confirmed that one of its senior commanders has been assassinated in an Israeli drone strike on southern Lebanon.
The Qassam Brigades announced in a statement on Monday that Mohammad Shaheen, also known as Abu al-Baraa, had been killed in the airstrike in the port city of Sidon on the Mediterranean coast.
It mourned the loss of Shaheen, praising his complete dedication to resistance and struggle against the Israeli occupation.
Qassam Brigades said the fallen military commander played a key role in the surprise and large-scale operation by Gaza-based resistance groups, dubbed Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, against the Zionist entity on October 7, 2023, and actively undertook a series of tasks ever since.
In a joint statement, the Israeli military and the regime’s so-called internal security service, Shin Bet, identified Shaheen as “the head of Hamas' Operations Department in Lebanon.”
They accused him of recently planning attacks against Israeli settlers from Lebanon.
The Israeli army and Shin Bet also described him as a “significant source of knowledge” for rocket attacks from Lebanon.
The Lebanon-based and pan-Arab al-Mayadeen television news channel reported that an Israeli drone strike targeted a car at the entrance to Sidon.
Video footage circulating on social media showed a vehicle on fire on a highway, with a black cloud of smoke rising from it.
Islamic Jihad's condemnation
Meanwhile, the Islamic Jihad movement, in a statement, condemned the assassination of the high-profile Qassam Brigades commander in the Lebanese city of Sidon.
“This treacherous and cowardly assassination reflects the aggressive and criminal nature of the leaders of the Zionist entity. It constitutes a dangerous act aimed at the elimination of the Axis of Resistance, its leaders and commanders.
“The pure blood of resistance leaders in Lebanon and Palestine will only increase the cohesion, prowess, and commitment of Lebanese and Palestinian nations to resist against the Israeli enemy,” the statement read.
The strike comes a day before Israel is scheduled to complete its full withdrawal of troops from Lebanon under a ceasefire agreement that ended 14 months of fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah resistance movement.
Tuesday’s deadline was set after Israel and Lebanon agreed to postpone the original late-January one.
However, Israel now insists on maintaining troops in five strategic locations in southern Lebanon near the border beyond the February 18 deadline.
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