The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted an airstrike on a senior Hamas terrorist leader — in southern Lebanon, not in Gaza, as part of its effort to protect northern Israel from continued attacks.

The IDF published video of the airstrike on social media:

In a statement, the IDF said:

Earlier today (Wednesday), an aircraft in the area of Tyre struck Hadi Ali Mustafa, a significant operative in Hamas’ department responsible for its international terrorist activities. In his position, Hadi directed terrorist cells and activities in the field, and advanced terror attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets in various countries around the world. Hadi operated under the direction of Samir Fendi, one of Saleh al-Arouri’s associates who was killed together with him.

The IDF and Israeli security forces will continue to operate against the Hamas terrorist organization in every arena in which it operates.
The Times of Israel added:

An Israeli drone strike on a vehicle near the Lebanese city of Tyre Wednesday killed two people, including a Hamas operative Israel said had a been a central figure in planning terror attacks on Israelis and Jews worldwide.

…

The broad daylight strike, which also killed a passerby, turned a vehicle near Rashidieh, on the outskirts of Tyre, into a mangled, flaming wreck. An AFP photographer reported seeing rescue workers collecting human remains at the scene.

The drone strike was an Israeli response to attacks on Israel from the area of southern Lebanon, which is controlled by Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terror organization. Hezbollah allows Hamas to operate from the area as well.

The fact that Israel could hit a target in southern Lebanon, where it does not have a troop presence on the ground, shows the reach of Israeli intelligence. Israel has warned that it will launch a broader war in southern Lebanon if Hezbollah does not stop the attacks and retreat north of the Litani River, as required by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon War in 2006.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent book, “The Zionist Conspiracy (and how to join it),” now available on Audible. He is also the author of the e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.