TEL AVIV, August 28. /TASS/. The Israeli Air Force eliminated a field commander of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group Faris Qasim in a strike near the Syrian-Lebanese border, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) press service reported.

The agency said Qasim "was responsible for the development of the Islamic Jihad's operational plans" in Syria and Lebanon and held a high position in the organization’s "Operations Division."

According to the Israeli military, Qasim "had a central role" in recruiting Palestinians for the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah movement, which in recent years "with Iranian direction and funding, has been systematically recruiting Palestinian operatives to advance and direct terrorist activity against the State of Israel from Lebanese territory."

The army noted that "additional Islamic Jihad terrorists who were on their way from Syria to carry out terrorist activities for the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanese territory were eliminated in the strike.".