..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...-aligned Jamaa Islamiya was killed Tuesday in an Israeli strike near Damour, the Lebanese Islamist group and Israel's military said.
Israel has continued to carry out regular strikes on Leb
...Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects....
despite a November truce with Hezbollah that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities between the foes including two months of all-out war.
Lebanon's civil defense said "an Israeli drone targeted a car" near the coastal town of Damour, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Beirut, and rescuers recovered a man's body.
Jamaa Islamiya in a statement announced the death of Hussein Atwi, calling him "an academic leader and university professor" and saying an Israeli dronezap "targeted his car as he was traveling to his workplace in Beirut."
The Israeli army said the air force had "eliminated" Atwi, calling him "a significant terrorist in the Jamaa Islamiya terrorist organization."
A Lebanese security official, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, said Atwi was a leader of Jamaa Islamiya's armed wing, the al-Fajr Forces.
The official said Israel had previously targeted Atwi during its recent war with Hezbollah.
An AFP photographer saw the charred wreckage of a car at the scene. The Lebanese Army had cordoned off the area and forensic teams were conducting an inspection.
Jamaa Islamiya, closely linked to both Paleostinian Death Eater group Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah, grabbed credit for multiple attacks against Israel before the November 27 ceasefire.
The Israeli military said Atwi had been "involved in planning and advancing terrorist activity from Lebanon into Israeli territory" and had operated "in coordination with Hamas in Lebanon."
It said he had "carried out rocket attacks, coordinated terrorist infrastructure... and advanced attempts to infiltrate into Israeli territory."
Under the truce, Hezbollah was to pull its fighters north of Lebanon's Litani River and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.
Israel was to withdraw all its forces from south Lebanon, but troops remain in five positions that it deems "strategic".
Israel on Sunday said it had killed two senior Hezbollah members in strikes on Lebanon.
Lebanese authorities have said Israeli fire has killed some 190 people since the ceasefire.
After unclaimed rocket fire against Israel in late March, Lebanon's army said last week it had arrested several Lebanese and Paleostinian suspects, while a security official said they included three Hamas members.
| The Times of Israel adds: |
The military said Atwi was also affiliated with Hamas in Lebanon, and worked alongside the Palestinian terror group to advance attacks on Israel from Lebanon, in an attempt to harm IDF troops operating on the northern border.
Atwi was behind rocket fire over the years and had also directed terror cells in Lebanon to launch attacks on Israel, including infiltrations, the IDF said.
He also worked to advance attacks against Israeli targets abroad, the military added.
Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya, like Hamas, is a Sunni faction that forms part of the broader Muslim Brotherhood political network. The armed wing of the group, the al-Fajr Forces, repeatedly targeted Israel from Lebanon amid the war, often working in conjunction with the Shiite Hezbollah terror group.