BEIRUT: A leader from Sunni Lebanese group Jamaa Islamiya was among two people killed in Zionist entity strikes in Lebanon on Tuesday, the group and the entity’s military said. The entity has continued to carry out regular strikes on Lebanon despite a November truce with Hezbollah that sought to halt more than a year of attacks. Lebanon’s civil defense said “a (Zionist entity) 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 had cordoned off the area and forensic teams were conducting 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 a Zionist drone strike “targeted his car as he was travelling to his workplace in Beirut”.

The Zionist army said the air force had “eliminated” Atwi, calling him “a significant terrorist in the Jamaa Islamiya terrorist organization”. A Lebanese security official, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, said Atwi was a leader of Jamaa Islamiya’s armed wing, the Fajr Forces. The official said the entity had previously targeted Atwi during its recent war with Hezbollah.

Jamaa Islamiya, closely linked to both Palestinian militant group Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, claimed responsibility for multiple attacks against the Zionist entity before the November 27 ceasefire. The entity’s armed forces said Atwi had been “involved in planning and advancing terrorist activity from Lebanon” 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” across the border.

Also Tuesday, Lebanon’s health ministry said an “Zionist enemy” strike in south Lebanon’s Tyre district killed one person. The Zionist entity has killed some 190 people in Lebanon since the November ceasefire. — AFP