Beirut [Lebanon], March 14 : The Israeli Air Force (IAF) on Saturday claimed that it carried out a strike in Beirut, killing a member of the aerial unit of the militant group Hezbollah.
As per IAF, the attack was carried out on Thursday (local time).
In a post on X, the Israeli Air Force said the strike targeted Marthsa Hussein Sarour, claimed as "a terrorist" near the Lebanese University.
https://x.com/IAFsite/status/2032557380920103387
"The Air Force, under the guidance of Military Intelligence, struck and eliminated Marthsa Hussein Sarour, a terrorist in the aerial unit of the terror organisation Hezbollah (127), in the area of the Lebanese University in Beirut yesterday (Thursday)," the statement said.
According to the Israeli military, Sarour was involved in weapons production for Hezbollah and was considered a key figure in the group's aerial unit. The Israeli Air Force said he was the brother of Muhammad Hussein Sarour, described as the commander of Hezbollah's aerial unit who was previously killed during an Israeli military campaign known as Operation "Arrows from the North".
The statement said," The terrorist Marthsa Hussein Sarour operated under the terror organisation Hezbollah and served as a leading figure and center of expertise in the field of producing weaponry for the terror organisation. In addition, Marthsa was the brother of the terrorist Muhammad Hussein Sarour, commander of the aerial unit of the terror organisation Hezbollah who was eliminated in Operation "Arrows from the North."
The statement also said Sarour worked as a chemistry lecturer at the Lebanese University in Beirut, alleging that several Hezbollah operatives employed in academic institutions simultaneously serve as technical specialists involved in weapons production for the group.
It said, "Beyond his activities in the terror organisation Hezbollah, Marthsa Hussein Sarour was employed as a chemistry lecturer at the Lebanese University in Beirut. In addition to him, there are many other operatives who, parallel to their activities in the terror organisation Hezbollah as centres of expertise in the fields of production, are employed as lecturers at various universities in Lebanon."
The IAF further claimed that Hezbollah operates weapons production infrastructure at multiple sites across Lebanon to increase the group's ability to manufacture its own weapons.
It also accused Hezbollah of embedding operatives and infrastructure within civilian areas throughout Lebanon while carrying out militant activities.
The statement said, "Production elements for the weaponry of the terror organisation Hezbollah operate at various sites across Lebanese soil to enhance the organisation's independence in supplying its weaponry. The terror organisation Hezbollah systematically takes over civilian spaces throughout the state of Lebanon in order to carry out terrorist activities and infrastructures, while embedding its operatives and commanders in the civilian space."