Spotlight on Terrorism – February 2026

he IDF

• During February 2026, IDF forces continued operations within the Yellow Line (the area under IDF control) in the Gaza Strip, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement, eliminating terrorists who crossed the Yellow Line or posed a threat, or in response to attacks on IDF forces and violations of the ceasefire, and destroyed weapons and tunnels. An IDF soldier was killed by friendly fire in the southern Strip. In addition, the forces prevented weapons from being smuggled into the Gaza Strip by drones across the Egyptian border (IDF spokesperson, February 1-28, 2026:
  • On February 4, in response to the wounding of an IDF soldier by terrorist gunfire, Bilal Abu Assi was attacked. He was the Hamas nukhba company commander who led the raid on Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre, during which dozens of civilians were abducted and murdered. He participated in holding murdered hostages in captivity during the war and led terrorist activity against IDF forces (IDF spokesperson, February 4, 2026). However, on July 2, 2025, Palestinian media reported Sheikh Bilal Abu Assi had been killed with his wife and children in an attack on a displaced persons tent near al-Aqqad Mosque in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis (Shehab Agency and Quds Agency, July 2, 2025).

• • On February 4, the forces eliminated the commander of the northern Gaza Strip brigade of the Jerusalem Brigades, the PIJ’s military wing, Ali Raziana. He was responsible for deploying Hamas terrorists and the defense of the northern Gaza brigade, and participated in the PIJ’s military council. He was also responsible for coordinating with Hamas to promote and terrorist attacks targeting IDF forces. During the war, he was responsible for holding hostages in PIJ captivity in the northern Gaza Strip. Once the ceasefire went into effect, he worked to rebuild the brigade (IDF spokesperson, February 4, 2026). Palestinian media reported that Ali al-Raziana, a commander in the Jerusalem Brigades, was killed in an attack in Deir al-Balah (Quds Agency, February 4, 2026). The PIJ’s military wing confirmed the death of Ali Fathi al-Raziana, a member of the military council and commander of the northern brigade (Jerusalem Brigades Telegram channel, February 24, 2026).

    
Right: Ali Raziana’s “ID card” (IDF spokesperson, February 4, 2026). Left: PIJ death notice for al-Raziaina (Jerusalem Brigades Telegram channel, February 24, 2026)

• • In an attack near the al-Shati refugee camp on February 4, Muhammad Issam Hassan al-Habil, a cell leader in the Hamas military wing, was eliminated. Shin Bet interrogations revealed that he murdered IDF surveillance soldier Cpl. Noa Marciano, who was abducted during the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre and held in captivity by Hamas (IDF spokesperson, February 4, 2026). Palestinian media reported the death of Muhammad Issam al-Habil, aka Hamada Abu al-Baraa, in an attack in the al-Shati refugee camp (Palestinian Media Center and Gaza Now Telegram channel, February 4, 2026).

• • On February 5, it was reported that Basil al-Haimoni, a released Hamas terrorist prisoner who was deported to the Gaza Strip as part of the Gilad Shalit exchange deal in 2011, died of his wounds after being injured in an Israeli attack in Jabalia al-Balad in the northern Strip the previous day. Al-Haimoni, who was born in Hebron in 1979, was a member of the Hamas military wing in Judea and Samaria and served 23 years in Israeli prison until he was released and deported to the Gaza Strip (Quds Agency, February 5, 2026). Hamas issued a death notice for its shaheed, the released prisoner, Basil al-Haimoni from Hebron, who was deported to Gaza (Hamas Telegram channel in Judea and Samaria, February 5, 2026). The IDF spokesperson confirmed that al-Haimoni had been eliminated in an attack in the Gaza Strip. The statement noted that in August 2004 he dispatched the suicide bombers who carried out a double attack on two buses in Beersheba, causing the deaths of 16 Israelis and injuring 100 others. He was detained in October 2004 and sentenced to prison, but released in the Gilad Shalit exchange deal and deported to the Gaza Strip. He continued recruiting terrorist operatives and directing terrorist activity, and during the war in the Gaza Strip he manufactured and planted explosive devices to attack IDF forces (IDF spokesperson, February 11, 2026).

• • On February 5, IDF forces operating in the northern Gaza Strip eliminated a terrorist who approached the Yellow Line and posed an immediate threat. According to intelligence information, the eliminated terrorist was Muhammad Salah al-Din Khaled Abu Rakba, a Hamas terrorist who participated the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre (IDF spokesperson, February 7, 2026). Medical services in the Gaza Strip reported the death of Muhammad Salah Abu Rakba, 33 years old, who was killed after the Israeli “occupation” shot at him outside the Yellow Line in the al-Waha area in the northern Strip, west of Beit Lahia (Shehab Agency, February 6, 2026).

       
Right: Abu Rakba’s “ID card” (IDF spokesperson, February 7, 2026).
Left: Abu Rakba (X account of Q.D. February 6, 2026)

• • On February 9, Anas al-Nashar, aka Abu Musab, an operative in the Hamas military wing, was killed after being trapped inside a tunnel in Rafah by “militias which cooperate with the occupation.” He was the son of Issa al-Nashar, one of the founders of Hamas and one of its leaders in the Gaza Strip; two of Anas al-Nashar’s brothers were eliminated by Israel in the past (Quds Agency and al-Risalah, February 9, 2026). Ghassan al-Dahini, leader of the Popular Forces militia, which operates in Rafah with Israeli assistance, claimed responsibility for killing al-Nashar, and issued pictures of the shooting and al-Nashar’s body (Ghassan al-Dehini Facebook page, February 9, 2026).

• • On February 9, the IDF attacked Hamas terrorists in response to a violation of the ceasefire agreement. Ahmed Hassan was eliminated, he was head of the sniper array of the Beit Hanoun battalion in Hamas and responsible for several shooting attacks in which seven IDF soldiers were killed and six others were severely wounded during the war in the Gaza Strip. He also promoted terrorist attacks targeting IDF forces (IDF spokesperson, February 10-11, 2026). Four Palestinian terrorist operatives were killed in an aerial attack on an apartment near the Holy Family School in the al-Nasr neighborhood in western Gaza City (Shehab and Palinfo, February 9, 2026). Two of them, Ibrahim Farid al-Za’anin, aka Abu Ahmed, and Ahmed Kamal Sweilem, aka Abu Muhammad, were operatives in the Hamas Beit Hanoun battalion (Telegram channel Halat Qassamiyya, February 9, 2026; X account of Ahmed Wael Hamdan, February 9, 2026). He was in the sniper unit of the Beit Hanoun battalion and was considered one of the most prominent field operatives in the northern Gaza Strip, having carried out several command and operational missions during the war (Shehab Agency, February 12, 2026).

• • On February 10, two PIJ terrorist operatives were reported killed in an attack on an electric bicycle at the entrance to the village of al-Masdar in the central Gaza Strip. They were Assem Saeed Abu Huli and Ahmed Abd Abu Dan (Shehab Agency, February 10, 2026). Abu Huli, aka Abu Omar, was an operations officer in the Central Gaza brigade of the PIJ’s military wing (X account of Abd al-Rahman Bashir, February 10, 2026). The IDF confirmed that Assem Abu Huli, who was head of the PIJ’s nukhba force in the central Gaza camps, was eliminated in an attack in response to a violation of the ceasefire agreement. He was responsible for supplying weapons to terrorist operatives of the Central Gaza brigade and for promoting and carrying out terrorist attacks targeting IDF forces. Abu Huli also commanded the nukhba terrorists of the central Gaza area, some of whom participated the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre. During the Gaza Strip War, he trained nukhba terrorists in scenarios involving the abduction of IDF soldiers (IDF spokesperson, February 15, 2026).

   
Right: Abu Huli’s “ID card” (IDF spokesperson, February 15, 2026).
Left: Abu Huli (Telegram channel of the journalist Isma’il Abu Omar, February 10, 2026)

• • According to reports, Sami al-Dahdouh, aka Abu Ibrahim, a commander in the PIJ’s military wing, was killed in an Israeli attack on the Tel al-Hawa neighborhood in southern Gaza City (al-Aqsa channel and al-Risalah, February 15, 2026). He was a commander in the Jerusalem Brigades’ military production unit (al-Sharq al-Awsat, February 15, 2026). The Brigades confirmed that Sami Shaaban al-Dahdouh was a member of the staff council (Jerusalem Brigades Telegram channel, February 24, 2026).

• • On February 10, the Shaheed Omar al-Qassem Forces, the military wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), issued the names and photographs of 67 operatives killed during the war in the Gaza Strip. The most senior was Ayman Kamel Jaha, a member of the military council of the PIJ’s military wing and commander of the forces in the northern Strip, who was killed on December 8, 2023. Thirteen of the dead were field commanders (DFLP Central Information Telegram channel, February 10, 2026).

• • On February 15, in response to a violation of the ceasefire agreement, Ahmed Bayoukh, who participated in the raid on the Re’im camp during the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and massacre, was eliminated (February 15, 2026). Five fatalities were reported in an attack on the Turkish slaughterhouse in Khan Yunis, among them Ahmed Subhi Shahada al-Bayoukh, 26 years old (Shehab Agency, February 15, 2026). Another fatality, also identified as an operative of the Hamas military wing, was Muhannad Krizem (Amjad al-Shuhadaa Instagram channel, February 15, 2026).

     
Right: Al-Bayoukh during the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack and massacre (IDF spokesperson, February 15, 2026). Left: Muhannad Krizem (Amjad al-Shuhadaa Instagram channel, February 15, 2026)

• On February 15, four fatalities were reported in an attack on a tent in the western part of the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Strip, (journalist Safinaz al-Louh-Gaza Telegram channel, February 15, 2026). One of them was Iyad Abu Askar, aka Abu al-Ghaz, a member of the Hamas military wing who participated in the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre and in the raid in the Zikim area, and had reached the outskirts of the southern coastal city of Ashkelon before he was wounded by IDF tank fire and returned to the Strip. He was responsible for the ambush in which the commander of the IDF 401st Brigade, Col. Ihsan Daqsa, was killed in October 2024, and helped ambush IDF forces in the northern Strip. Abu Askar was the son of the Hamas senior figure Muhammad Abu Askar, who was chairman of the movement’s committee of summer camps and was eliminated in December 2024. Four of Abu Askar’s brothers were also eliminated by Israel (Shehab Agency, February 15, 2026; Quds Agency, February 16, 2026).

• • On February 24, the PIJ’s military wing issued a list of 40 commanders who were killed during the war in the Gaza Strip. The most senior was Ali Fathi al-Razaina, along with staff council members Sami Shaaban al-Dahdouh and Yahya Amin Abu Daqqa. The list included commanders in the various central units (operations, information, communications, production and missiles) and battalion commanders in the different brigades (Jerusalem Brigades Telegram channel, February 24, 2026). On the list was Mahdi Hassan al-Mamlouk, an assistant in the central communications unit who was eliminated on November 11, 2024. The PIJ’s al-Quds al-Youm channel claimed he was a “journalist” who worked as an engineer in the broadcasting department, but did not reveal his connection to the military wing (al-Quds al-Youm Telegram channel, November 11, 2024).^[3]

     
Notices of the eliminated commanders of the PIJ’s military wing

• • On February 25, the PIJ’s military wing issued list of 20 additional field commanders in the various brigades, including from the units of operations, combat communications, artillery, information, security, construction and recruitment. One was Zakaria Fathi Abu Ghali, noted as a commander in the central combat information unit (Jerusalem Brigades Telegram channel, February 26, 2026). He was killed in an Israeli attack in Rafah on February 6, 2024, and the al-Quds al-Youm channel reported that he was one of its “staff members and a scriptwriter,” but again it did not reveal his connection to the  military wing (al-Quds al-Youm Telegram channel, February 6, 2024).

Rocket fire

• No rockets were fired at Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip during February 2026.

Monthly Distribution of Rockets

Annual Distribution of Rocket

Terrorist Attacks

• No terrorist attacks were carried out from Judea and Samaria during February 2026; there was one in January

Significant Terrorist Attacks, 2026^[4]

Annual Distribution of Significant Terrorist Attacks

Counterterrorism

• During February 2026, Israeli security forces continued routine counterterrorism activity throughout Judea and Samaria, eliminating terrorists who threw rocks, Molotov cocktails and explosive devices, and detaining hundreds of wanted persons and suspects involved in terrorism, planning attacks and the manufacturing and trafficking of weapons. Among those detained was an accomplice of the terrorist who shot and killed three Israelis in Funduq in January 2025. The forces seized weapons, explosive devices and lathes, as well as printed incitement materials and funds for financing terrorist activity. Security forces sealed and demolished the homes of perpetrators of attacks and prevented weapons from being smuggled across the Jordanian border (IDF spokesperson and Israeli media, February 1-28, 2026:
  • On February 3, terrorists threw rocks at IDF forces conducting operational activity in Jericho. IDF soldiers returned fire; one of the terrorists was killed. There were no casualties among the IDF forces (IDF spokesperson, February 3, 2026). Ministry of health in Ramallah reported that Saeed Nael Saeed al-Sheikh, 24 years old, was killed by “occupation bullets” in Jericho and three others were wounded (Shehab Agency, February 3, 2026). Hamas issued a death notice for the shaheed Saeed Nael al-Sarouqi, killed by “occupation bullets” during clashes in the city of Jericho (Hamas Telegram channel in Judea and Samaria, February 4, 2026).

• • On February 10, the Shin Bet announced it has destroyed a terrorist network operating in Samaria and directed from Lebanon by Mujahid Dahsha, a Lebanese with connections to Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist operatives. According to the statement, Muhammad Sadaqa, from the village of Anza in Samaria, near Jenin, was detained in October 2025 on suspicion of planning an attack. Questioning revealed that he gone to Lebanon, where he was recruited by Musa Abu Saif, aka Jibril, a member of Dahsha’s network, to carry out terrorist activity in Judea and Samaria and form military cells. After returning from Lebanon, he recruited operatives, including Muhammad Khalil, from Ramallah, and Muhammad Barahma, from Anza. He maintained contact with the terrorist network in Lebanon through social networks and a gaming application. The Shin Bet exposed another cell operated by the Lebanese network and detained Dia al-Din Hamad and Nasr Atida, from the village of Tel. Questioning revealed they had been recruited by a Lebanese terrorist operative named Mujahid, who was assisted by Lebanese named Abu Ahmed and Abu Wahid, who managed the contact through correspondence on social networks. They trained in the use of firearms to carry out an attack, were asked to photograph a settlement in Samaria and agreed on the transfer of funds for the purchase of weapons. All five suspects were detained and indictments were filed against them (Shin Bet spokesperson, February 10, 2026).

       
Right: Members of the terrorist network. Left: Social media profile used to recruit the operatives (Shin Bet spokesperson, February 10, 2026)

• • On February 12, Israeli security forces detained Muhammad Zidan, an accomplice of the terrorist who shot and killed three Israelis and wounded eight others in Funduq in January 2025. Zidan was a senior operative in the terrorist network in Jenin and involved in financing terrorists and promoting terrorist activity (IDF spokesperson and police spokesperson, February 13, 2026). An Israeli special force detained Muhammad Abu al-Bahaa from the Harsh al-Saada neighborhood in western Jenin (Quds Agency, February 12, 2026), who was allegedly an employee of the Jenin municipality (Facebook page of the journalist Aman Salawi, February 12, 2026).

• • On February 16, Palestinian sources reported that Muhammad Kamal Shareem, 18 years old, was killed by “occupation fire” near the northern entrance to the city of Qalqilya (al-Aqsa channel and Palestinian Media Center, February 16, 2026). Hamas issued a death notice for Muhammad Kamal al-Baz Sharim claiming him as one of its operatives (Hamas Telegram channel in Judea and Samaria, February 16, 2026).

• • On February 17, Israeli security forces detained terrorist operatives affiliated with ISIS and suspected of planning an attack. They were detained in Jericho (police spokesperson and IDF spokesperson, February 17, 2026). Palestinian media reported Israeli security force raids and detentions in Jericho in the Aqabat Jabr and Ein al-Sultan refugee camps and the Katif al-Wad neighborhood (Quds Agency, February 12-16, 2026).
  • On February 19, it was reported that Nasrallah Abu Siam, a 19 year-old Palestinian with American citizenship, was shot to death by a Jewish settler in the village of Mikhmas near Ramallah. Relatives said settlers raided the village to steal sheep, and when residents tried to stop them, the settlers shot at them, killing the victim and wounding other residents (Reuters, February 19, 2026). Five Palestinians were reportedly wounded, three of them by gunfire (Wafa, February 19, 2026). Hamas issued a death notice for Nasrallah Muhammad Jamal Abu Siam, who was “shot during a settler attack on the town of Mikhmas, northeast of occupied Jerusalem” (Hamas Telegram channel in Judea and Samaria, February 19, 2026).

• • On February 21, two terrorist operatives with an explosive device approached IDF soldiers operating in Beit Furik. The soldiers shot at the terrorists, killing one and wounding the other (IDF spokesperson, February 22, 2026). The Palestinian Red Crescent reported two wounded by “occupation fire” in the town of Beit Furik in the Nablus district (al-Jazeera, February 21, 2026). Later, it was reported that Muhammad Hanani died after being wounded during a raid on the town of Beit Furik (al-Risalah, February 22, 2026). Hamas issued a death notice for Muhammad Wahbi Hanani, “wounded by occupation fire during clashes in Beit Furik” (Hamas Telegram channel in Judea and Samaria, February 22, 2026).

• During February 2026, the security forces also dealt with terrorist activity within the State of Israel:
  • On February 23, the Shin Bet and Israel Police detained four young Israelis from the Galilee, including two minors, who planned a shooting attack targeting soldiers in the city of Karmiel. According to the indictment filed against them, the four maintained a WhatsApp group in which they shared reports about the fighting in the Gaza Strip, correspondence about a stabbing in Karmiel and publications related to ISIS. They underwent training and received instructions in preparation for the attack, including training in shooting with an airsoft pistol. An indictment was filed against the four for conspiracy to commit an act of terrorism (murder) under aggravated circumstances and for training or instruction for the purposes of terrorism, while a 17 year-old defendant, who was supposed to carry out the shooting attack in practice, was also charged with attempted membership in a terrorist organization (Shin Bet and police spokespersons and Israeli media, February 23, 2026).

      
Weapons and incitement materials found in the possession of the defendants
(Shin Bet and police spokespersons, February 23, 2026)

• • On February 25, according to reports, the Shin Bet and Israel Police had previously detained a 16-year-old boy from Taybeh on suspicion of belonging to a terrorist organization and intending to carry out terrorist attacks targeting IDF soldiers. Investigation revealed that his activities risked harm to state security and to the security forces, and therefore the minister of defense, Israel Katz, signed an administrative detention order (Israeli media, February 25, 2026).

ezbollah

• During February 2026, IDF forces continued to operate against Hezbollah targets Identified in south Lebanon in violation of the ceasefire agreement of November 27, 2024, which prohibited the presence of the organization south of the Litani River, and against Hezbollah capabilities and the organization’s reconstruction and military build-up efforts in southern Lebanon and in the Beqa’a Valley. Aerial attacks were conducted on warehouses and shafts for storing weapons, launchers and other military assets, and engineering equipment used for rebuilding facilities. Ground forces destroyed structures used by Hezbollah in communities near the border and fired artillery. On February 20, three Hezbollah headquarters in the Baalbek area of the Beqa’a Valley were attacked and eight operatives of Hezbollah’s missile array were eliminated. Eight additional Hezbollah operatives were eliminated, most of whom were involved in rebuilding facilities (IDF spokesperson, February 1-28, 2026). Hezbollah social media accounts and its media channels announced the deaths of 16 of its operatives in Israeli strikes (Balagh and South Lebanon Watch the Enemy Telegram channels and Lebanese media, February 1-28, 2026):^[5]
  • Ali Daoud Amiss, aka Muhammad Ali, from Ebba.
  • Ali al-Hadi Mustafa al-Hakani, aka Hamza, from Markaba, a resident of Harouf.
  • Abbas Ahmed Ghadboun, aka Abu al-Fadl, from Qana.
  • Ahmed Ali Salami, aka Jibril, from Yanouh. Formerly a soldier in the Lebanese Army.
  • Abdallah Khalil Nasser, aka Jihad, from Aita al-Shaab.
  • Mahdi Hassan Shaito, aka Sajed al-Tiri, from al-Tiri.
  • Muhammad Tahsin Hussein Qashqash, aka Abu Daoud, from Hanine.
  • Ahmed Hussein Termos, aka Abu Hussein, from Tallouseh.
  • “Commander” Hussein Muhammad Yaghi, aka Sadiq, from Baalbek.
  • Muhammad Ibrahim al-Mousawi, aka Ali Hussein, from al-Nabi Chit.
  • Ali Zeid al-Mousawi, aka Nasser, from al-Nabi Sheet.
  • Hussein Khairallah Alaa al-Din, aka Radwan, from al-Hermel.
  • Ahmed Hussein al-Hajj Hassan, aka al-Mujahid, from Chaat.
  • Qassem Ali Mahdi, aka Abd al-Muttalib, from Ali al-Nahri.

  • Ahmed Muhammad Zaiter, aka Waad, from Riha.

  • Sanin Yasser al-Sablani, aka Ghadab, from Chmistar.

The Death of Hassan Ali Saleh, a Veteran Hezbollah’s Commander

• On February 2, Hezbollah announced the death of the “great jihadi commander,” Hajj Ali Hassan Saleh, aka Hajj Malek, “after a prolonged illness.” He joined Hezbollah at the beginning of the organization’s existence and was “a prominent figure in the Islamic resistance in Lebanon^[6] and a tireless commander” (Hezbollah combat information unit Telegram channel, February 2, 2026).

• Photographs of Saleh as he appeared in the past were issued, including with former Hezbollah secretary general Hassan Nasrallah and with the former commander of the Qods Force, Qassem Soleimani, as well as milestones of his career (Hezbollah combat information Telegram channel, February 2, 2026):
  • He was born in Brital in the Beqa’a Valley on March 1, 1963.
  • He joined the “Islamic resistance” in 1983 and rose through the ranks, having various roles and responsibility for various areas of military specialties.
  • He was appointed deputy head of operations in the central military unit in 1998 and later received responsibility for the arenas of activity in Iqlim (al-Tuffah) and in al-Khiam.
  • He received command of the Nasser Unit in 2004 and military command of the “confrontation” (on the Syria-Lebanon border) with the “takfiri aggression” (ISIS) in 2016.
  • He led and participated in a number of “prominent operations” before the “liberation” [the IDF withdrawal from southern Lebanon] in 2000 and afterward, including the Aramta operation [against a South Lebanon Army position in April 2000], the Ghajar operation [an attempt to abduct Israeli soldiers in the border village in November 2005] and the abduction operations [of Israeli soldiers] in 2000 and in 2006.
  • He led the confrontation on the ground against the “Israeli aggression” during the July 2006 war [the Second Lebanon War].
  • He underwent several military and leadership training courses.
  • He died from illness as a “shaheed” on February 2, 2026.

     
Right: Saleh with Hassan Nasrallah. Left: Saleh (left) in a meeting with Qassem Soleimani (Hezbollah combat information Telegram channel, February 2, 2026)

• According to another publication, he was pursued by the “Israeli enemy” for years because of his role in operations carried out by the “resistance.” He was involved in an anti-tank missile attack on an IDF post and a military vehicle near the moshav of Avivim in 2019, in response to the elimination of two Hezbollah operatives in the Quneitra area in the Syrian Golan (South Lebanon Watch the Enemy Telegram channel, February 2, 2026).
• Hezbollah secretary general Na’im Qassem said Saleh was active on every battlefield, that whenever he was called he was present with competence, determination, sacrifice, generosity and was a respected moral and educational example [sic]. He noted that Saleh’s death was “a loss for the jihad and the resistance and a great loss of an inspiring jihadi leader” [sic] (al-‘Ahed, February 10, 2026).

Hamas

• On February 20, the IDF attacked a Hamas headquarters in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in Sidon, which had been to prepare terrorist activity targeting IDF forces in Lebanese territory and to train terrorists before attacks on IDF forces and the State of Israel (IDF spokesperson, February 20, 2026). Hamas confirmed that two of its operatives were killed in the attack, Bilal Dib al-Khatib and Muhammad Tarek al-Sawi (al-Manar, February 20, 2026). Hamas condemned the “aggression” against the refugee camp, calling it “escalation,” and claiming it reflected the “determination of the occupation government” to expand the scope of the “aggression.” Hamas denied the target was a movement headquarters and claimed that it was a headquarters of the joint security force that maintained camp stability (Hamas Telegram channel, February 9, 2026). Lebanese media claimed that the structure had previously been used by the joint Palestinian security force in the refugee camp and had recently been rented to a private party with the intention of converting it into a “food distribution center” (Lebanese News Agency, February 20, 2026).

      
Hamas death notices al-Khatib (right) and al-Sawi (al-Manar, February 20, 2026)

The Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)

• On February 15, the IDF eliminated two PIJ terrorist operatives in Syria in an attack in Majdal Anjar in the Beqa’a Valley in eastern Lebanon, as they were attempting to cross the border into Syria. They had been promoting terrorist activity against Israel from Lebanese territory and posed an immediate threat to Israeli citizens and to IDF forces operating in Syria (IDF spokesperson, February 17, 2026). Four people were reportedly killed in an Israeli attack on a vehicle on the al-Masnaa-Majdal Anjar road in the Beqa’a Valley near the border with Syria (Lebanese News Agency, February 15, 2026). It was also reported that the attack targeted a Syrian taxi, whose driver was a Syrian citizen named Khaled Muhammad al-Ahmed. With him were three Palestinian passengers whose bodies were burned and whose identities were not made known (Lebanon Debate, February 16, 2026).

Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya

• On February 9, IDF forces in the Mount Dov area detained an operative in the al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya, the branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in Lebanon which is affiliated with Hamas. The objective of the operation was to obtain intelligence about the organization’s activity in Lebanon and Syria (IDF spokesperson and Israeli media, February 9, 2026). Al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya said an Israeli force infiltrated the town of al-Habbariyeh in south Lebanon and abducted one of the organization’s senior figures, Attoui Attoui. The organization claimed it was a response to the visit of the Lebanese prime minister to the south of the country the previous day and called on Lebanese state institutions to protect the residents of the south (al-Arabi channel, February 9, 2026). Hezbollah condemned the kidnapping of the senior figure in al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya, calling it “a dangerous development” signaling the beginning of a “new stage of Israeli lawlessness… placing all the residents of the south at direct risk…facing constant threat (Hezbollah combat information Telegram channel, February 9, 2026).

• Syrian media reported continued “incursions by Israeli occupation forces” into villages in the rural areas of the Quneitra and Daraa districts, the establishment of checkpoints and the detention of residents (SANA, Syrian News Agency and the Syrian Observatory, February 1-28, 2026).
• IDF forces located a weapons depot belonging to al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya, the branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in Lebanon, in the village of Beit Jann in southern Syria. The soldiers found numerous weapons, including firearms and mines, as well as communications equipment, which they destroyed (IDF spokesperson, February 10, 2026).

• The Houthis have not attacked Israel or ships since the beginning of the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip on October 10, 2025. Senior figures in the Houthi regime continued to condemn alleged “Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreements in the Gaza Strip and in Lebanon,” but made almost no threats to resume attacks, in contrast to previous months.^[7]