Top Hamas chief in Lebanon, on UNRWA payroll, killed in Israeli strike

According to the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet, the Israeli Air Force killed Fateh Sherif Abu el-Amin overnight Sunday

The leader of the Hamas terrorist organization in Lebanon, Fateh Sherif Abu el-Amin, was killed in an airstrike in the Tyre area in the south of the country, Israel said on Monday.

The Israeli confirmation came hours after the Gaza-based group said that he died in the attack along with several of his family members.

According to the joint announcement by the Israel Defense Forces and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), the Israeli Air Force killed Abu el-Amin overnight Sunday.

“Sherif was responsible for coordinating Hamas’s terror activities in Lebanon with Hezbollah operatives. He was also responsible for Hamas’s efforts in Lebanon to recruit operatives and acquire weapons,” the IDF and Shin Bet said.

“He led the Hamas terrorist organization’s force build-up efforts in Lebanon and operated to advance Hamas’s interests in Lebanon, both politically and militarily,” the statement continued.

Media reports placed Abu el-Amin, his wife, son and daughter at the El-Buss refugee camp in the southern Lebanese coastal city of Tyre when they were killed in the strike.

“The western areas of South Lebanon are Hamas’s main stomping grounds and its operatives there, have been responsible for much of the rocket fire targeting Nahariya and towns north of Haifa,” Ynet reported.