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| Lebanese Militant, Reluctantly Freed by Israel, Is Killed in Syria | Lebanese Militant, Reluctantly Freed by Israel, Is Killed in Syria |
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| RAMALLAH, West Bank — A Hezbollah commander who was reluctantly released by Israel in 2008 — nearly 30 years after taking part in a notorious terrorist attack — was killed in an airstrike in Damascus, Syria, Hezbollah and his family said on Sunday. | RAMALLAH, West Bank — A Hezbollah commander who was reluctantly released by Israel in 2008 — nearly 30 years after taking part in a notorious terrorist attack — was killed in an airstrike in Damascus, Syria, Hezbollah and his family said on Sunday. |
| The commander, Samir Kuntar, was freed as part of an exchange that returned the bodies of two soldiers to Israel. He had served nearly three decades for his role in the 1979 killings of a police officer, an Israeli civilian and his daughter in an Israeli coastal town near the Lebanese border. The civilian’s wife accidentally smothered their other daughter while trying to quiet her. | The commander, Samir Kuntar, was freed as part of an exchange that returned the bodies of two soldiers to Israel. He had served nearly three decades for his role in the 1979 killings of a police officer, an Israeli civilian and his daughter in an Israeli coastal town near the Lebanese border. The civilian’s wife accidentally smothered their other daughter while trying to quiet her. |
| Mr. Kuntar died when missiles slammed into a residential building in a crowded neighborhood called Jaramana on Saturday night. A man in Jaramana who said he had seen the aftermath of the attack reported that a five-story building had been completely destroyed. | Mr. Kuntar died when missiles slammed into a residential building in a crowded neighborhood called Jaramana on Saturday night. A man in Jaramana who said he had seen the aftermath of the attack reported that a five-story building had been completely destroyed. |
| Hezbollah swiftly blamed Israel for the assault, but Israeli officials had no comment. | Hezbollah swiftly blamed Israel for the assault, but Israeli officials had no comment. |
| The deal with Hezbollah that led to Mr. Kuntar’s freedom stirred an anguished debate in Israel, especially after he received a rapturous hero’s welcome upon his return to Beirut that included a walk on a red carpet and effusive praise from Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah. | The deal with Hezbollah that led to Mr. Kuntar’s freedom stirred an anguished debate in Israel, especially after he received a rapturous hero’s welcome upon his return to Beirut that included a walk on a red carpet and effusive praise from Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah. |
| In the years since, Mr. Kuntar, a Lebanese Druse, took up arms again, this time in Hezbollah’s campaign to rescue the beleaguered government of President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war. | In the years since, Mr. Kuntar, a Lebanese Druse, took up arms again, this time in Hezbollah’s campaign to rescue the beleaguered government of President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war. |
| A statement on the Facebook page of a Druse militia in Jaramana said on Sunday that the building had been hit with “four long-range missiles.” | A statement on the Facebook page of a Druse militia in Jaramana said on Sunday that the building had been hit with “four long-range missiles.” |
| Footage on Syrian television showed a blackened, smashed building, with men furiously digging through the rubble with their hands, with a wrecked vehicle nearby. | Footage on Syrian television showed a blackened, smashed building, with men furiously digging through the rubble with their hands, with a wrecked vehicle nearby. |
| Also killed in the attack, according to pro-government websites, was Farhan al-Sha’alan, a leader of the Syrian Resistance in the Golan, a group affiliated with Hezbollah, a Shiite militia and political movement. | Also killed in the attack, according to pro-government websites, was Farhan al-Sha’alan, a leader of the Syrian Resistance in the Golan, a group affiliated with Hezbollah, a Shiite militia and political movement. |
| It was unclear if others had been killed or wounded in Jaramana, a neighborhood with an ethnically and religiously mixed population that includes many Druse and Christians, but which has become overcrowded with Syrians displaced from other areas. | It was unclear if others had been killed or wounded in Jaramana, a neighborhood with an ethnically and religiously mixed population that includes many Druse and Christians, but which has become overcrowded with Syrians displaced from other areas. |
| Mr. Kuntar’s brother Bassam confirmed his death on Sunday without providing details. He called his brother a martyr, suggesting that he died in the context of a battle or military mission. | Mr. Kuntar’s brother Bassam confirmed his death on Sunday without providing details. He called his brother a martyr, suggesting that he died in the context of a battle or military mission. |
| “With pride we mourn the martyrdom of the leader Samir Kuntar and we are honored to join families of martyrs,” Bassam Kuntar wrote on Facebook. | “With pride we mourn the martyrdom of the leader Samir Kuntar and we are honored to join families of martyrs,” Bassam Kuntar wrote on Facebook. |
| But some other reactions to Mr. Kuntar’s death perhaps reflected the decline of Hezbollah itself in the imagination of the wider Arab and Muslim world since it veered from its usual mission of confronting Israel to instead help Mr. Assad crush a rebellion dominated by members of his country’s Sunni Muslim majority. | But some other reactions to Mr. Kuntar’s death perhaps reflected the decline of Hezbollah itself in the imagination of the wider Arab and Muslim world since it veered from its usual mission of confronting Israel to instead help Mr. Assad crush a rebellion dominated by members of his country’s Sunni Muslim majority. |
| “Hezbollah commander Samir Kuntar began by killing 4-year-old Israeli girl in 1979 and ended it killing Syrian people,” Abdurahman Harkoush, a self-identified supporter of the Syrian insurgency, said on Twitter. | “Hezbollah commander Samir Kuntar began by killing 4-year-old Israeli girl in 1979 and ended it killing Syrian people,” Abdurahman Harkoush, a self-identified supporter of the Syrian insurgency, said on Twitter. |
| In Israel, Smadar Haran Kaiser, the mother of the two girls who died in the 1979 attack and who has since married and had two other children, described the death of Mr. Kuntar as “a kind of relief.” His footprints were “full of blood of victims,” she said in a call to reporters. | In Israel, Smadar Haran Kaiser, the mother of the two girls who died in the 1979 attack and who has since married and had two other children, described the death of Mr. Kuntar as “a kind of relief.” His footprints were “full of blood of victims,” she said in a call to reporters. |
| Hezbollah and its followers revered Mr. Kuntar for enduring nearly 30 years as a prisoner of Israel. The party’s official television channel, Al Manar, praised him Sunday morning as “the dean of Arab detainees.” | Hezbollah and its followers revered Mr. Kuntar for enduring nearly 30 years as a prisoner of Israel. The party’s official television channel, Al Manar, praised him Sunday morning as “the dean of Arab detainees.” |
| The devastating 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah began, in a way, because of him. | The devastating 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah began, in a way, because of him. |
| That conflict started after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid, planning to hold them hostage for the return of prisoners held by Israel, most notably Mr. Kuntar. | That conflict started after Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid, planning to hold them hostage for the return of prisoners held by Israel, most notably Mr. Kuntar. |
| In 2008, Israel released Mr. Kuntar, along with four other Lebanese prisoners, in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers killed in the 2006 raid. | In 2008, Israel released Mr. Kuntar, along with four other Lebanese prisoners, in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers killed in the 2006 raid. |
| Hezbollah had recently chosen Mr. Kuntar to lead the group’s operations in southern Syria along the frontier of the Israeli-held part of the Golan Heights. | Hezbollah had recently chosen Mr. Kuntar to lead the group’s operations in southern Syria along the frontier of the Israeli-held part of the Golan Heights. |
| Its expanded presence there also raised speculation that Hezbollah was trying to secure a new foothold in Syrian territory near the Golan. | Its expanded presence there also raised speculation that Hezbollah was trying to secure a new foothold in Syrian territory near the Golan. |
| Those efforts did not go smoothly, however, and more recently, Mr. Kuntar had a somewhat modified role, setting up a Hezbollah-trained militia in the southern province of Swaida, populated mainly by Syrian Druse. | Those efforts did not go smoothly, however, and more recently, Mr. Kuntar had a somewhat modified role, setting up a Hezbollah-trained militia in the southern province of Swaida, populated mainly by Syrian Druse. |
| Over the course of the chaotic Syrian conflict, Israeli warplanes have hit targets inside Syria several times, with most of those strikes said to be against weapons deliveries meant for Hezbollah. | Over the course of the chaotic Syrian conflict, Israeli warplanes have hit targets inside Syria several times, with most of those strikes said to be against weapons deliveries meant for Hezbollah. |
| Israel does not confirm military action in Syria, and the Syrian government has tended to downplay them. | Israel does not confirm military action in Syria, and the Syrian government has tended to downplay them. |
| “There is no doubt that whoever did it — this is a capability that is limited to a very small number of powers, states that can get to such capabilities, which begin with the level of very, very exact intelligence,” said Eyal Ben-Reuven, a retired major general, on Israeli radio on Sunday. | “There is no doubt that whoever did it — this is a capability that is limited to a very small number of powers, states that can get to such capabilities, which begin with the level of very, very exact intelligence,” said Eyal Ben-Reuven, a retired major general, on Israeli radio on Sunday. |
| When asked if Israel had those capabilities, he responded: “Israel is one of the leaders. And that is an understatement.” | When asked if Israel had those capabilities, he responded: “Israel is one of the leaders. And that is an understatement.” |
| If the reports are accurate, Mr. Kuntar would be the second leader of Hezbollah’s southern front to die in an Israeli strike. Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of Hezbollah’s former operations chief, Imad Mughniyeh, was killed in January in Quneitra, near the Golan Heights. His father was assassinated in Damascus in 2008, a bombing also believed to have been carried out by Israel. | If the reports are accurate, Mr. Kuntar would be the second leader of Hezbollah’s southern front to die in an Israeli strike. Jihad Mughniyeh, the son of Hezbollah’s former operations chief, Imad Mughniyeh, was killed in January in Quneitra, near the Golan Heights. His father was assassinated in Damascus in 2008, a bombing also believed to have been carried out by Israel. |
| The strike on Saturday also carried significance for the wider Syrian conflict, which now has numerous international players involved — most recently, Russia. | The strike on Saturday also carried significance for the wider Syrian conflict, which now has numerous international players involved — most recently, Russia. |
| It pierced the new sense of security on the part of Mr. Assad’s supporters that came after Russia began its direct military intervention in the conflict in late September. | It pierced the new sense of security on the part of Mr. Assad’s supporters that came after Russia began its direct military intervention in the conflict in late September. |
| Government supporters in Damascus expressed anger on Sunday conversations and in comments on pro-government websites, complaining that traitors must have revealed Mr. Kuntar’s whereabouts. | Government supporters in Damascus expressed anger on Sunday conversations and in comments on pro-government websites, complaining that traitors must have revealed Mr. Kuntar’s whereabouts. |
| They also asked why Russia’s warplanes and antiaircraft guns, deployed in Syria, failed to shoot down the Israeli jets. | They also asked why Russia’s warplanes and antiaircraft guns, deployed in Syria, failed to shoot down the Israeli jets. |
| But Saturday’s attack, according to military analysts, was likely a so-called standoff strike, with four or five rockets fired by Israeli warplanes that did not cross into Syrian airspace. | But Saturday’s attack, according to military analysts, was likely a so-called standoff strike, with four or five rockets fired by Israeli warplanes that did not cross into Syrian airspace. |
| On Sunday night, according to Unifil, the United Nations peacekeeping force along the Lebanese-Israeli border, there was an exchange of fire that appeared to have concluded without casualties or escalation — suggesting that both sides had carried out essentially symbolic strikes in their customary effort to avoid another war. | |
| In a statement, Unifil said that three rockets had been fired from southern Lebanon, with two striking northern Israel and one falling in the sea. No one claimed responsibility. Israeli forces fired back approximately eight artillery shells that landed near the town of Zebqeen in southern Lebanon, according to Unifil. |