An Israeli drone strike killed the head of Hamas’ military operation in Lebanon on Monday — as Israel announced it would keep troops in parts of southern Lebanon after the deadline to withdraw, military officials said.
Mohammad Shaheen, the head of Hamas’ operations department in Lebanon, was killed while driving in Sidon, in the southern half of the country where the Israel Defense Forces are set to remain despite the cease-agreement with Hezbollah.
Images of the aftermath show that the vehicle was completely pulverized, with first responders putting out the flames to reveal only the charred remains of the car.
A Civil Defense firefighter hoses down a burned car that was hit by an Israeli drone strike, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. AP
Shaheen, the head of Hamas’ operations department in Lebanon, was killed while driving in Sidon. AP
Images of the aftermath show that the vehicle was completely destroyed. AP
The IDF accused Shaheen of “recently planning terror attacks, directed and funded by Iran, from Lebanese territory against the citizens of the state of Israel.”
Hamas also confirmed Shaheen’s death, but only described him as a military commander in the region.
The strike comes just a day before the IDF’s scheduled withdrawal from the Lebanese border as part of the cease-fire deal between Israel and Hezbollah, a deadline the Jewish state is choosing to ignore.
The Israeli military confirmed Monday that its troops will remain at five key locations along the border as part of a “temporary measure,” allegedly approved by the US.
American officials had previously given Israel an extended Feb. 18 deadline to withdraw from the border, but the Jewish state maintains that it must remain in Lebanon until Hezbollah fully exits from the south.
A Lebanese army convoy enters Houla village in south Lebanon, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025, to evacuate people and the body of a girl who was shot on Sunday by Israeli forces. AP
A member of the Lebanese army walks at the entrance of Deir Mimas, southern Lebanon, February 17, 2025. REUTERSIsrael invaded Lebanon in October to root out Hezbollah terrorists, who had consistently bombarded Israeli commuties in the north of the Jewish state.
IDF Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said Israel was committed to carrying out an eventual withdrawal “the right way, in a gradual way, and in a way that the security of our civilians is kept.”
Under the cease-fire agreement, the IDF was supposed to withdraw from the buffer zone, where the Lebanese army and UN peacekeepers would take on patrol duty to maintain order.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun slammed the IDF’s decision to stay, saying the agreement “must be respected” and claiming “the Israeli enemy cannot be trusted.”
“[We] are working diplomatically to achieve the complete Israeli withdrawal, and I will not accept that a single Israeli remains on Lebanese territory,” Aoun told reporters.
With Post wires
