The head of Hamas in Lebanon, Fateh Sharif Amine, was killed overnight in an Israeli strike on the Palestinian refugee camp of el-Buss, on the outskirts of Sour, the movement announced in a statement. His wife, Oummaya Abdel Hamid, and two of his children were killed with him.
This is the first time since the outbreak of the Gaza war and Hezbollah's support front in Lebanon on Oct. 7 and 8 that Israel has targeted a Palestinian camp in the country. Hamas was involved in cross-border clashes with the party and other armed groups, losing several fighters and commanders in both targeted and non-targeted strikes in recent months.
According to Hamas' statement, Abu al-Amine was also "a member of the movement's leadership abroad."
The Palestinian group highlighted his work in Lebanon "in the education sector," praising "a brilliant teacher" who also headed a school. Our correspondent in the south, noted that the Hamas commander was president of the UNRWA Teachers' Union, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees. The Palestinian Teachers' Association in Lebanon honored the memory of Hamas leader Fateh Amine Sharif, who was also president of its General Council. "He dedicated his life to the service of education and the growth of Palestinian youth," the statement said.
In March 2024, he was suspended from his position as a teacher and director of Deir Yassin School in the Buss camp and "placed on administrative leave without pay for three months" pending an investigation conducted by the agency's internal oversight services. The measure was taken following reports of "alleged activities by the staff member that violated the regulatory framework."
While Israel has struck near Palestinian camps in Lebanon in recent months, this is the first time one has been directly targeted.
UNRWA has been embroiled in controversy since Israel accused 12 of its roughly 13,000 employees in Gaza of being involved in the deadly Oct. 7 attack carried out by Hamas in Israel. The U.N. has since fired the 12 staff members implicated by Israel, and several countries had suspended their aid to UNRWA following the Israeli accusations. Most of them have since resumed their contributions to the agency.