Drones Strike Lebanon: Jamaa Islamiya Commander Killed in South and East

On Thursday, Israeli drones targeted two vehicles in east and south Lebanon, resulting in the death of a Jamaa Islamiya commander in the village of Ghazzeh in Bekaa.

One drone strike hit a car in Jbal el-Botm, near Zebqine in the Tyre district. Earlier that day, the Israeli army fired machine guns at the border town of al-Wazzani, and artillery shelled the southern border town of Aita al-Shaab overnight.

At 6:30 a.m., a drone targeted a Dodge pickup on the Ghazzeh road, killing Mohammad Hamed Jbara, a Jamaa Islamiya commander also known as Abu Mahmoud, from the village of Qaroun in Bekaa, according to the National News Agency.

Jamaa Islamiya and its armed wing, the Fajr Forces, confirmed Jbara’s death in a statement, describing the incident as a “treacherous Zionist raid.” Founded in the 1960s, Jamaa Islamiya has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks against Israel, including joint operations with Hamas in Lebanon. The Fajr Forces were established in 1982 to combat the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

In June, an Israeli strike on a vehicle in east Lebanon killed another Jamaa Islamiya leader, who the Israeli military claimed was supplying weapons to the group and Hamas.

Since October, the cross-border violence has resulted in 512 deaths in Lebanon, primarily fighters, including nine from Jamaa Islamiya, and at least 104 civilians, according to an AFP tally. On the Israeli side, 17 soldiers and 13 civilians have been killed, as reported by authorities.

Most of the clashes have occurred near the Lebanon-Israel border, although Israel has frequently struck deeper into Lebanese territory. This ongoing violence has heightened fears of a full-scale conflict between the two adversaries, reminiscent of their war in the summer of 2006.