A leader from Hamas-aligned Lebanese Islamist group Jamaa Islamiya was among two people killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon on Tuesday, April 22, the group and Israel's military said. Israel has continued to carry out regular strikes on Lebanon despite a November truce with militant group 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. An AFP photographer saw the charred wreckage of a car at the scene. The Lebanese army cordoned off the area and forensic teams conducted an inspection.
Lebanese Islamist group Jamaa Islamiya in a statement announced the death of Hussein Atwi, calling him "an academic leader and university professor" and saying an Israeli drone strike "targeted his car as he was travelling to his workplace in Beirut." The Israeli army said the air force had "eliminated" Atwi, describing him as "a significant terrorist in the Jamaa Islamiya terrorist organization."
Jamaa Islamiya, closely linked to both Palestinian militant group Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah, claimed responsibility for multiple attacks against Israel before the November 27 ceasefire.
Also on Tuesday, Lebanon's health ministry said an "Israeli enemy" strike in south Lebanon's Tyre district killed one person. The Israeli military said the air force "eliminated" a local Hezbollah "commander" in the same area.
The Israeli army said Jamaa Islamiya's 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."
Hamas in a statement condemned the "criminal Zionist strike" that killed Atwi and extended its condolences to the Jamaa Islamiya leadership.
Hezbollah in a statement condemned the strike, without saying whether one of its members was killed in the second raid, also criticizing the "failure of countries sponsoring the ceasefire deal."
The United States chairs a committee, which also includes France, tasked with overseeing the truce. Under the deal, 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." Lebanese authorities have said Israeli fire has killed some 190 people since the ceasefire. After unclaimed rocket launches at Israel in late March, Lebanon's army said last week it had arrested several Lebanese and Palestinian suspects, while a security official said they included three Hamas members.