Smoke rises after Israeli Air Force airstrikes on villages in southern Lebanon, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, as seen from northern Israel, September 30, 2024 | Photo: Reuters
Israel’s military said on Monday (30 September 2024) that its forces had “eliminated” the leader of Hamas in Lebanon as it continued to attack Iran-backed armed groups in the neighboring country.
“Overnight … the IAF (Air Force) struck and eliminated the terrorist Fatah Sharif, head of Lebanese branch of Hamas terrorist organization,” the military said in a statement.
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Mr. Sharif “is responsible for coordinating the terrorist activities of Hamas in Lebanon with Hezbollah operatives. He is also responsible for Hamas’ efforts in Lebanon to recruit operatives and acquire weapons,” the statement said.
“He led the efforts of the terrorist organization Hamas to build up forces in Lebanon and worked to advance Hamas’ interests in Lebanon, both politically and militarily,” it added.
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Hamas said earlier on Monday that Mr Sharif had been killed in an airstrike on his home in al-Bass camp in southern Lebanon. The group said he was killed with his wife, son and daughter in a “terrorist and criminal murder”.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported an airstrike on al-Bass near the city of Tire, saying it was the “first time” the camp had been targeted.
Mr. Sharif was also an employee of the United Nations agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, but was placed on administrative leave in recent months.
“Sharif was an UNRWA official who was placed on administrative leave without pay in March and was under investigation following allegations received by UNRWA about his political activities,” the agency said AFP in a statement.
“By day he was the president of the UNRWA teachers union and by night he was the leader of Hamas in Lebanon,” an Israeli military spokesman said AFP.
Published – September 30, 2024, 4:37 PM IST
