The Israeli army confirmed that it killed Mohamed Jabarah, commander of the al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, in an airstrike in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon.
“He was responsible for carrying out terrorist attacks and missile launches against the State of Israel, including coordinated attacks with the terrorist organization Jamaa Islamiya,” a military statement said.
Their elimination diminishes Hamas’ capabilities “to plan and execute attacks against the State of Israel in the border area,” the statement added.
Jabarah, from the Lebanese town of Qaraoun, was hit while driving in the village of Ghazzeh in the West Bekaa district, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the border with Israel.
The exchange of fire on the border with Lebanon began on October 8 last year, mainly between Israel and the Shiite group Hezbollah, but also with Palestinian militias and Jamaa Islamiya, a Lebanese Sunni group.
Israeli strikes are concentrated in southern Lebanon, but its planes occasionally strike the Bekaa area, 90 kilometers (56 miles) from the border, where it says Hezbollah maintains its air defenses.
The al-Qassam Brigades earlier announced the death of its commander Mohamed Hamed Jabarah, alias “Abu Mahmud”, in western Bekaa, Lebanon.
Lebanon’s National News Agency (ANN) identified Jabarah as the leader of the Lebanese Sunni group Jamaa al Islamiya, an ally of Hamas and founded 60 years ago as the Lebanese branch of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, which has limited political clout in Lebanon, with just one seat in parliament.
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