Muhammad Shaheen, head of Hamas’s Operations Department in Lebanon, was planning attacks against Israeli citizens, according to Israeli security forces
The Israeli Air Force on Monday killed the head of Hamas’s Operations Department in Lebanon near Sidon, according to a joint statement by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet).
“Muhammad Shaheen was killed after recently planning terrorist attacks, targeted and financed by Iran, from Lebanese territory against citizens of the State of Israel,” the statement said.
Shaheen “was a significant source of knowledge within the terrorist organization and was responsible, throughout the war, for several terrorist attacks and rocket launches targeting Israeli civilians,” the statement continued.
According to Israeli news outlet Ynet, which cited government sources, Shahin was planning to attack Jewish targets outside Israel.
Shahin’s identity was confirmed through DNA testing, a Lebanese security source told Al Jazeera.
The attack comes a day before a February 18 deadline for Israeli forces to withdraw from Lebanon under the terms of a November ceasefire that ended more than a year of war between the Jewish state and Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist organization.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem warned Israel on Sunday that if it did not withdraw its forces by February 18, “we will know how to deal with it.”
“Israel must withdraw completely by February 18, there is no excuse,” the Hezbollah chief said in a televised address, as quoted by France 24. Under the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon on November 27, Israeli forces are to gradually withdraw from southern Lebanon, while the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) take responsibility for ensuring that Hezbollah remains disarmed south of the Litani River.
The agreement initially called for an Israeli withdrawal within 60 days, but was extended to February 18, according to a White House statement on January 26. The extension was requested by Israel due to the LAF’s slow progress in deploying in southern Lebanon.
The IDF has been conducting frequent border operations to prevent Hezbollah from regaining forces, including intelligence gathering, reconnaissance and clearing terrain to disrupt terrorist movements.
The Israeli Air Force on Sunday night carried out strikes on several Hezbollah locations in Lebanon where there were rocket launchers and weapons, according to the army.
Published in 02/17/2025 14h46
Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption.
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