Israel on Tuesday eliminated senior Hezbollah terrorist Salman Nemer Jamaa in an airstrike in Damascus, Syria.
Jamaa, who was Hezbollah’s top representative in Syria, was killed in a drone strike near Damascus airport, Arab media reports say. “Syrian regime-affiliated news reported that a vehicle was struck by an Israeli UAV,” the Israeli TV channel i24NEWS reported.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the elimination of Jamaa in “an intelligence-based strike in Damascus.”
The successful strike “degrades both Hezbollah’s presence in Syria and Hezbollah’s ongoing force-building efforts,” the Israeli military announced in a press release Tuesday afternoon.
IDF described the slain terrorist as a “key Hezbollah figure” in the Iranian and Syrian regime’s “weapon smuggling to Lebanon.”
“Jamaa, a senior Hezbollah terrorist, has held various positions in the Hezbollah terrorist organization over the past years, especially in the Syrian arena,” the IDF statement noted. “He had previously served as the Head of Intelligence in the Khiam arena, the Head of Operations in Hezbollah’s Damascus command center, and in recent years, Hezbollah’s representative to the Syrian military.”
“As part of his role, Jamaa was responsible for coordinating between Hezbollah operatives and the Syrian military, including supporting weapons smuggling from Syria to Hezbollah, including during the “Swords of Iron” war. Additionally, he was in close contact with Syrian state officials,” the IDF added.
The news comes as forces loyal to Iran-backed Assad regime are in full retreat amid a major offensive by Islamist rebels in northern Syria.
Rebel fighters led by jihadist Hayʼat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have taken most of Aleppo, Syria’s second-largest city, and were advancing on the Assad regime-controlled western province of Hama. “Syrian insurgents captured four new towns early Tuesday, bringing them closer to the central city of Hama,” the Associated Press reported. “The latest push is part of a wide offensive by forces opposed to Syrian President Bashar Assad that over the past days has captured large parts of the northern city of Aleppo.”
The IDF conducted a series of airstrikes on Hezbollah terror targets after the Lebanese terrorist group violated the Biden administration-backed ceasefire by firing mortars into northern Israel. The pro-Iranian terror militia continued to fire rockets at Israel on Tuesday, the Israel military confirmed.
“The Israeli military launched a wave of airstrikes in Lebanon on Monday evening after Hezbollah launched two mortars at the Mount Dov area for the first time since the ceasefire between Israel and the Iran-backed terror group took effect last week,” The Times of Israel reported Tuesday.
The IDF, on Tuesday, engaged Iran-backed terrorist groups on at least four fronts.
Covering the Israel military operations against terrorist forces in several theaters, the Israeli news website YNET reported:
[T]he IDF continued its multi-front operations, carrying out strikes in Syria, southern Lebanon, the Beqaa Valley and the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. (…)The IDF continued its warning strikes in Lebanon, (…) on Tuesday, Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese channel Al-Manar reported that an Israeli drone attacked a site in southern Lebanon’s Beit Lif, with additional strikes in Deir Siryan later in the day.Since the cease-fire took effect, the IDF has mainly fired for the sake of deterring, frequently targeting residents and activists attempting to return to southern Lebanese villages. The military has also been active in Syria, Gaza and the Beqaa Valley. (…)In the West Bank, an Israeli Air Force drone twice struck a terrorist cell at the entrance to Al ‘Aqaba, near Tubas in the West Bank, which was planning to execute an attack. The Palestinian Health Ministry reported two fatalities, with a third terrorist moderately injured before being evacuated to a local hospital. (…)Israeli forces carried out operations in the southern and northern Gaza Strip. Palestinian media reported on Tuesday that eight people were killed and over 20 injured in several strikes in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza. The reports claimed the strikes targeted “areas near school shelters” in the region.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY