On February 8, Attoui Mohammad Attoui was detained by Israel in the Sunni village of Habbariyeh. Attoui served as the head of the Hasbaiyya and Marjaayoun area within the al-Jamaa al-Islamiya organization. Al-Jamaa al-Islamiya is the Lebanese Muslim Brotherhood organization, operates in full cooperation with Hamas. The organization in Lebanon is headed by Muhammad Takush, who was elected secretary-general in 2022. Following the outbreak of the Arab Spring, the movement began formal political activity in Lebanon, and it currently has a Lebanese member of parliament, Imad al-Huth. The organization has a military wing known as “al-Fajr,” established in 1982, which operates fully under Hamas in Lebanon. The organization also acted against Israel during the most recent war, during which dozens of its operatives were eliminated. The village of Habbariyeh, located approximately 4 km from the Israeli border at the foothills of Mount Dov, serves as a focal point for the organization’s activity. In March 2024, the IDF carried out a strike in the village, killing seven operatives who were planning terrorist attacks against Israel. The activity of the organization and its al-Fajr wing pose a security threat to Israel, due to their direct involvement in terrorist operations from southern Lebanon and their close ties with Hamas and Hezbollah.
