Israeli airstrike kills key Hamas commander in southern Lebanon

The Israeli armed forces reported on Thursday that they had conducted an air operation in southern Lebanon. As a result of the airstrike, Mohammed Hamed Jabbarah, a high-ranking commander associated with Hamas and other militant organisations in Lebanon, was killed.

Jabbarah was a member of Al-Jama'a al-Islamiyya, a Sunni group operating in Lebanon that has ties to Palestinian Hamas and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. The organisation itself confirmed these connections.

In their statement, the Israeli armed forces emphasised that the eliminated commander was a "key figure" in planning and executing Hamas attacks on northern regions of Israel.

The area where the airstrike occurred is often targeted by Shiite Hezbollah, which controls southern Lebanon. Since the outbreak of the conflict in the Gaza Strip in October 2023, there has been a regular exchange of fire on the Israeli-Lebanese border. Hezbollah is conducting attacks to support Hamas in the fight, thereby drawing Israeli forces to the northern border. The organisation has declared that it will cease attacks when a ceasefire is established in the Gaza Strip. As a result of these actions, tens of thousands of civilians have been evacuated from the border areas of both countries. There are fears that the conflict may escalate and turn into a full-scale war.

Iran supports both Hezbollah and Hamas which are part of an anti-Israel axis that centres around that state.