Israel says killed Hezbollah member who supervised arms purchase deals

One person was killed and two others wounded when an Israeli drone targeted a pickup truck on the outskirts of the eastern city of Hermel on Thursday, the state-run National News Agency said.

The Israeli army said Friday that the strike targeted Mohammad Mahdi Ali Shahin, describing him as a Hezbollah operative who had “supervised terrorist deals to purchase combat equipment on the Syrian-Lebanese border since the understandings between Israel and Lebanon came into effect.”

“Shahin was one of the most prominent saboteurs belonging to the geographical unit responsible for the Lebanese Bekaa Valley region in Hezbollah, which has recently been keen on transferring combat equipment from Syria to Lebanon,” the Israeli army claimed.

“As part of his position, Shahin assumed responsibility for implementing terrorist deals, purchasing combat equipment for the terrorist organization, and coordinating the arrival of shipments and their distribution to various units in a manner that supports the continued process of rebuilding Hezbollah’s capabilities,” the Israeli army added.

It said Shahin worked with “various traders or smugglers spread across the Syrian-Lebanese border who cooperate with the terrorist organization Hezbollah.”

“Shahin's activities constituted a threat to the State of Israel and its citizens and a serious breach of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the Israeli army added.

A Lebanese lawmaker for Hezbollah, Ihab Hamadeh, condemned the strike on the group's Telegram channel, saying it had targeted "innocent civilians."

The November 27 truce agreement ended more than a year of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, including two months of all-out war during which Israel sent in ground troops.

Israel continues to carry out regular strikes on Lebanese territory and the two sides regularly accuse each other of violating the truce, which nevertheless has largely held.

Israeli forces were to pull out from Lebanon on February 18 under the agreement, but kept troops at five locations that Israeli authorities deemed "strategic" in Lebanon's south, near the border.

On Thursday, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces would remain indefinitely in what he called a "buffer zone" in southern Lebanon.

The conflict significantly weakened Hezbollah and decimated its leadership.

The hostilities were initiated by Hezbollah in support of its Palestinian ally Hamas after the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel sparked the war in Gaza.