The IDF and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) killed terrorist Qassem Salah Al-Husseini in the area of Kfarkela in southern Lebanon on Thursday, the two security agencies announced Friday.
Husseini was a Lebanese terrorist involved in advancing plots against Israeli civilians and IDF troops on the northern front on behalf of Iran’s Quds Force.
The Quds Force is an arm of the IRGC, conducting operations outside of Iran, where it supports Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and Iranian militias in Syria and Iraq.
The group has been responsible for terror attacks abroad, in particular targeting Israelis.
Terrorist led a weapons smuggling route transporting goods via Syria to the West Bank
Husseini was a key figure in a weapons smuggling route from Iran through Syria to various locations in the northern front and to the West Bank and maintained connections with Syrian and Lebanese smugglers. He was killed in a car by the Israel Air Force, according to a report from Al-Hadath.
His death is “a significant blow to the ability of various terrorist organizations in the northern front and in Judea and Samaria to arm themselves and carry out attacks against Israeli civilians and IDF forces,” the military said.
The IDF has shifted its focus back to southern Lebanon, where it continues to target Hezbollah infrastructure, after the conclusion of the 12-day Israel-Iran war.
A Western intelligence source told The Jerusalem Post in April that Tehran had made several attempts to smuggle weapons from Iran to Hezbollah by sea via the Port of Beirut.
Following former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s downfall, Iran has found it difficult to smuggle arms to Hezbollah via its usual land routes, as its ability to do so has been significantly reduced.
Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport no longer receives frequent cargo flights from Iran either, making the oceanic route increasingly relevant for smuggling attempts.