Attack on Hezbollah ally one of two deadly strikes as Lebanon PM under pressure to dismantle armed groups.
A top commander of the armed wing of the Lebanese party al-Jamaa al-Islamiya has been killed in an Israeli drone attack in Lebanon.
The attack on Hussein Atoui’s car south of Beirut was one of two deadly strikes launched by Israel on Tuesday. The strikes were part of a wave of ongoing violations from both sides of the border of the ceasefire agreement struck last November between Israel and Lebanon’s armed group Hezbollah, risking a flare-up of hostilities.
Lebanon’s Civil Defence confirmed that “an Israeli drone targeted a car” near the coastal town of Damour, about 20km (12.5 miles) south of Beirut, and rescuers recovered a man’s body from the vehicle.
Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, which is allied with Iran-linked groups Hezbollah and Hamas in Palestine, confirmed the death of Atoui, calling him an “academic leader and university professor” who had been “targeted” in his car as he travelled to work, in a statement.
The AFP news agency, quoting an unnamed security official, said Atoui was a leader of al-Jamaa al-Islamiya’s armed wing, al-Fajr Forces.
Separately, Lebanon’s Ministry of Public Health said another Israeli attack on the southern Tyre district also killed one person.
‘Delicate’
Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya claimed responsibility for multiple attacks against Israel during more than a year of cross-border hostilities, including two months of all-out war that saw thousands killed in Lebanon in Israeli air raids before the November ceasefire deal was struck.
Under the truce, Hezbollah, a powerful political and military force in Lebanon, was to withdraw fighters from south of the Litani River, about 27km (17 miles) north of the border with Israel, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure there.
Israel was to withdraw all its forces from south Lebanon. However, it has maintained troops in five positions it deems “strategic”.
It has pointed to continued sporadic rocket fire from across the border to justify its continued attacks. On Sunday, it said it killed two senior Hezbollah members in strikes.
The United Nations said last week that Israeli forces have killed at least 71 civilians in Lebanon since the ceasefire.
Lebanon, meanwhile, says it is trying to meet its obligations to disarm Hezbollah and other groups and have its military take control of southern regions.
After unclaimed rocket fire against Israel in late March, the Lebanese army said last week it had arrested several Lebanese and Palestinian suspects, while a security official said they included three Hamas members.
However, the United States has been applying sustained pressure on Beirut to accelerate the process of disarming Hezbollah.
That has seen Lebanese President Joseph Aoun announce that he hopes to complete the process by the end of 2025, although he insisted on Sunday that he would not be rushed and warned that dismantling the group is a “sensitive, delicate issue”.
