Latest news with #al-Jamaaal-Islamiya
Middle East Eye
22-04-2025
- Middle East Eye
One person killed in second Israeli attack in southern Lebanon
Another Israeli drone attack in southern Lebanon has killed at least one person, the country's health ministry has reported. The attack targeted a car in Haniyeh town in the Tyre district, according to the ministry. Earlier we reported that Hussein Atwi, the leader of al-Jamaa al-Islamiya was killed in a separate Israeli attack in the Chouf district of Mount Lebanon.
L'Orient-Le Jour
22-04-2025
- Politics
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Who is Dr. Hussein Atwi, the Lebanese University instructor killed by Israel?
Sheikh Dr. Hussein Ezzat Atwi, a senior leader of al-Jamaa al-Islamiya and a prominent figure in the Fajr Forces military wing, was assassinated by an Israeli drone strike on Tuesday morning in, near Baaouerta in the Aley district of Mount Lebanon, less than 20 kilometers south of Beirut while en route to the Lebanese University, where he served as a professor in the Faculty of Arts. Born in 1968 in the southern village of Al-Habariyeh (Hasbaya District). His mother was killed by an Israeli shell in 1977 when he was just nine years old. He obtained both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Islamic Studies from the College of Islamic Da'wah in Beirut, where he later worked as an administrator and teacher. His academic career extended to leadership roles; he served as the head of the World Council for the Arabic Language and the Imam Al-Ghazali Center for Sufi Studies. Atwi was also involved in various Islamic scholarly circles and was "known for his moderate views, as well as his efforts to maintain a non-sectarian approach to Islamic thought," a local from his village explained to L'Orient Today. He also held a significant role in the Union of Muslim Scholars, fostering strong ties within various Islamic communities in Lebanon. He served as a professor, imam, and a director of several institutions focused on Islamic studies, including the World Council for the Arabic Language and the Imam Al-Ghazali Center for Sufi Studies. His assassination follows a previous attempt on his life in January 2024, when Atwi survived an Israeli drone strike in Kfar Kila (Marjayoun), after an operation conducted by the Fajr Forces. 'He miraculously survived by jumping out of the car after a drone kept following his car and escaped,' a local from Habariyeh, told L'Orient Today. Atwi's rocket launches against Israel in 2014 On July 25, 2014, during the Israeli assault on Gaza, Atwi was directly involved in launching rockets from southern Lebanon towards Israeli settlements, in an act of solidarity with the Palestinian people. In an interview with al-Jadeed in 2014, Atwi explained his motives, citing the "ongoing Israeli aggression in Gaza, the killing of Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khdeir, and the continued violations of Palestinian rights." He also referenced the Lebanese government's stance, which supported the right of resistance. Atwi, alongside two others, launched the rockets from a farm in Ain Arab, along Lebanon's southern border, targeting three Israeli settlements. However, a malfunction caused a small explosion, injuring Atwi and briefly causing him to lose consciousness. After receiving treatment in the Bekaa region, he was arrested by Lebanese authorities. He was eventually released on August 1, 2014. In response to his killing, al-Jamaa al-Islamiya condemned the attack, labeling it as an act of "Zionist aggression" and raising concerns about Israel's expanding military operations deep into Lebanese territories. The group also described the assassination as a retaliatory act linked to the growing role of al-Jamaa al-Islamiya and its resistance factions along the southern border, which have been actively confronting Israeli targets since October 2023. The Israeli military announced, in a message on X from its Arabic-speaking spokesperson Avichay Adraee, that it had eliminated a "high-ranking official of al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, affiliated with Hamas," in the Naameh region near Damour. According to Adraee, Hussein Atwi was "involved in planning terrorist plots against Israel, including attacks on the Israeli military at the northern border." The military claimed that, during his years with al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, Atwi "had conducted rocket fire, attempted to infiltrate Israeli territory, and planned attacks against Israelis worldwide."
Al Jazeera
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Israeli attack kills al-Jamaa al-Islamiya leader in Lebanon
A top commander of the armed wing of the Lebanese party al-Jamaa al-Islamiya has been killed in an Israeli drone attack in Lebanon. The attack on Hussein Atoui's car south of Beirut was one of two deadly strikes launched by Israel on Tuesday. The strikes were part of a wave of ongoing violations from both sides of the border of the ceasefire agreement struck last November between Israel and Lebanon's armed group Hezbollah, risking a flare-up of hostilities. Lebanon's Civil Defence confirmed that 'an Israeli drone targeted a car' near the coastal town of Damour, about 20km (12.5 miles) south of Beirut, and rescuers recovered a man's body from the vehicle. Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, which is allied with Iran-linked groups Hezbollah and Hamas in Palestine, confirmed the death of Atoui, calling him an 'academic leader and university professor' who had been 'targeted' in his car as he travelled to work, in a statement. The AFP news agency, quoting an unnamed security official, said Atoui was a leader of al-Jamaa al-Islamiya's armed wing, al-Fajr Forces. Separately, Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health said another Israeli attack on the southern Tyre district also killed one person. Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya claimed responsibility for multiple attacks against Israel during more than a year of cross-border hostilities, including two months of all-out war that saw thousands killed in Lebanon in Israeli air raids before the November ceasefire deal was struck. Under the truce, Hezbollah, a powerful political and military force in Lebanon, was to withdraw fighters from south of the Litani River, about 27km (17 miles) north of the border with Israel, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure there. Israel was to withdraw all its forces from south Lebanon. However, it has maintained troops in five positions it deems 'strategic'. It has pointed to continued sporadic rocket fire from across the border to justify its continued attacks. On Sunday, it said it killed two senior Hezbollah members in strikes. The United Nations said last week that Israeli forces have killed at least 71 civilians in Lebanon since the ceasefire. Lebanon, meanwhile, says it is trying to meet its obligations to disarm Hezbollah and other groups and have its military take control of southern regions. After unclaimed rocket fire against Israel in late March, the Lebanese army said last week it had arrested several Lebanese and Palestinian suspects, while a security official said they included three Hamas members. However, the United States has been applying sustained pressure on Beirut to accelerate the process of disarming Hezbollah. That has seen Lebanese President Joseph Aoun announce that he hopes to complete the process by the end of 2025, although he insisted on Sunday that he would not be rushed and warned that dismantling the group is a 'sensitive, delicate issue'.
Al Arabiya
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya leader killed in Israeli strike south of Beirut: Official
A military leader of al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, a Lebanese group allied with Palestinian Hamas, was killed Tuesday in an Israeli strike south of Beirut, a security official told AFP on condition of anonymity. According to the Lebanese Civil Defense, "an Israeli drone targeted a car" near the coastal town of Damour, about 20 kilometers south of Beirut, and rescuers recovered a man's body from the vehicle. Developing
