The Israel Defense Forces said Monday that troops arrested a senior terrorist from the Sunni Jamaa Islamiya organization during an overnight raid in southern Lebanon, while separately reporting a deadly clash in Rafah in which four Hamas terrorists emerged from a tunnel, opened fire on Israeli forces and were killed.
According to the IDF, soldiers carried out a targeted operation late Sunday in the Har Dov area, following intelligence indications gathered in recent weeks. The force raided a structure roughly 10 kilometers inside Lebanese territory and apprehended the senior Jamaa Islamiya terrorist, who was later transferred to Israeli territory for further questioning. Weapons were also located and seized at the site.
Lebanese media identified the detainee as Atwi Atwi, a senior figure in Jamaa Islamiya, a Sunni Islamist terrorist organization operating in Lebanon and affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. Lebanese outlets described the operation as an abduction.
The IDF said Jamaa Islamiya has advanced terror attacks against Israel and its civilians along the northern front throughout the war. Israeli security officials said the decision to arrest the operative rather than kill him stemmed from the significant intelligence value expected from his interrogation, including information related to Hezbollah.
Atwi has previously been linked to gunfire directed at IDF forces near the town of Beit Jann several months ago, as well as to the arrest of six Jamaa Islamiya operatives last year, according to Israeli officials.
In a statement, Jamaa Islamiya said it holds Israel responsible for any harm to Atwi and claimed the arrest was intended to intimidate residents of southern Lebanon. The group called on the Lebanese government to pressure guarantor states of the ceasefire to halt what it described as Israeli violations and secure the release of Lebanese detainees.
Separately, the IDF said four Hamas terrorists were killed Monday morning during a clash in eastern Rafah after emerging from an underground tunnel and opening fire on IDF troops from the 7th Armored Brigade.
The incident occurred around 8 a.m. as the force was operating against a tunnel in Israeli-controlled territory along the so-called Yellow Line in eastern Rafah. The terrorists exited the tunnel and opened fire, prompting a close-range exchange in which the soldiers returned fire and killed all four attackers. No Israeli troops were injured.
The IDF described the incident as a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement by Hamas.
Israeli security officials said recent weeks have seen increased hostile activity by Hamas operatives sheltering in tunnel networks in southern Gaza. After prolonged periods underground, some terrorists have attempted to relocate, flee or carry out attacks against Israeli forces.
Meanwhile, the IDF said it also carried out a strike Monday in the Yanuh-Jat area of southern Lebanon, targeting a Hezbollah terrorist in response to repeated violations of ceasefire understandings. The area lies about 9 kilometers from Tyre and roughly 40 kilometers from the site of the Jamaa Islamiya arrest.
The IDF said it will continue operating on all fronts to remove any threat to the State of Israel and its civilians.