Our Department of Education building will be draped in black bunting by noon today

"he took one for the team"

Israeli strike kills Hamas commander in Lebanon, 3 Palestinian militant leaders killed in separate strike

A Hamas commander who worked alongside Hezbollah and led the terrorist group’s activities in Lebanon has been taken out in an airstrike, Israeli officials say. 

Fateh Sherif, the head of the Lebanon branch of Hamas, was killed overnight, according to a joint statement Monday from the Israel Defense Forces and Israel’s domestic security agency Shin Bet. 

"Sherif was responsible for coordinating Hamas' terror activities in Lebanon with Hezbollah operatives. He was also responsible for Hamas’ efforts in Lebanon to recruit operatives and acquire weapons," officials said. "He led the Hamas terrorist organization's force build-up efforts in Lebanon and operated to advance Hamas' interests in Lebanon, both politically and militarily." 

The officials added that Sherif was "an accredited UNRWA member, and was the head of the UNRWA Teachers Union in Lebanon." Some members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency are accused of participating in Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel, which began the war in Gaza.