A car in flames in Baaouerta, Mount Lebanon, after an Israeli strike, on April 22, 2025. (Credit: Lebanese Civil Defense's Facebook account)
BEIRUT — Israeli drone strikes killed two men in Lebanon on Tuesday, including an al-Jamaa al-Islamiya commander whose vehicle was targeted in the town of Baawerta, in the Aley district about 20 kilometers south of Beirut. Both men had survived previous Israeli attacks.
The strike killed Hussein Azzat Atwi, a "commander and university professor," according to a statement from al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, a Sunni political party affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. The party said Atwi was traveling from his home in Baawerta to his workplace in Beirut at the time of the strike. He was also a professor at Lebanese University and originally from Hebbarieh in the Hasbaya district.
The Lebanese Civil Defense said the strike occurred shortly after 9 a.m. Crews extracted Atwi’s body from the car and extinguished a fire caused by the explosion.
According to L’Orient Today’s regional correspondent, Atwi had survived a previous Israeli strike in southern Lebanon several months ago.
The attack was the first in the Aley district since a cease-fire took effect on Nov. 27, 2024, although the region had previously been struck before the truce. Since then, Israeli strikes have largely focused on southern Lebanon and areas along the Syrian border, except for two Israeli strikes on buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs on March 28 and 31.
Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya’s armed wing, the al-Fajr Brigades, has claimed responsibility for attacks on Israeli territory during the war between Hezbollah, its allies and Israel between October 2023 and November 2024. The group has lost several fighters in Israeli strikes.
Second man killed near border escaped death in previous strike
In a separate incident Tuesday afternoon, an Israeli drone strike hit a van in Hanieh, in the Sour district near the southern border, killing its driver — a man from the nearby village of Majdal Zoun. According to L’Orient Today’s correspondent, he had previously survived an Israeli strike in Deir Qanoun al-Ain (Sour). Two missiles were fired at the vehicle; the first missed.
Despite the cease-fire, Israeli strikes continue to target what the Israeli military claims are “Hezbollah infrastructure” or officials from Hezbollah, Hamas and allied factions. As of April 15, at least 148 people have been killed in Israeli attacks on Lebanese territory, including 71 civilians, according to the United Nations.
Elsewhere Tuesday, an Israeli drone dropped several grenades on Kfar Kila, Israeli artillery shelled Shebaa (Hasbaya), and a sound bomb was dropped on the central square of Aita al-Shaab (Bint Jbeil).
Overnight, Israeli army vehicles reportedly crossed into Lebanese territory and briefly infiltrated the village of Abbasieh (Sour), reaching the mosque before retreating toward Ghajar, a disputed village annexed by Israel that straddles the border.