Illustrative: Smoke rises on the Lebanese side of the border between Israel and Lebanon after an Israeli airstrike, as seen from northern Israel, November 18, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein

i24 News — The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it had killed Mohammed Hamed Jabara, a military commander leading Hamas-affiliated forces in Lebanon, in an airstrike in the Bekaa region.

The airstrike targeted a vehicle in Gaza, a town with the same name as the Palestinian enclave, in the eastern part of Lebanon.

Jabara planned and executed attacks against Israel. Leading the Fajr forces of the Muslim Brotherhood in Lebanon, called Jama’at Islamiya, he was a key figure in tying Hamas efforts north of Israel’s border.

“His elimination diminishes the capabilities of the Hamas terrorist organization to plan and carry out attacks against the State of Israel in the area of the northern border,” the IDF said in a statement.

Hamas also confirmed that he was killed.

Jabara had been arrested previously by Lebanese authorities for possessing weapons, although he was later released, claiming they were used in the Islamic resistance against Israel.

He survived several attempts by Israel to eliminate him, Arabic media reported.

Jabara’s targeted killing came before two other reported IDF strikes in southern Lebanon on Thursday morning.