The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on March 22 that it killed Walid Muhammad Dib, a Hamas financial official, in Lebanon. Two other Hamas operatives in Lebanon were killed by the IDF over the past week, as Israel also continues to wage a multi-front conflict against Iran and Hezbollah that began on February 28.
The IDF said that it acted on intelligence provided by the Shin Bet intelligence agency and carried out a “targeted strike” in Lebanon that killed Dib. Dib was a senior Hamas financial operative who played a key role in funding the group’s military activities, transferring money to networks in the West Bank, Lebanon, and Syria. He also recruited operatives and directed attacks from Syria and Lebanon, the IDF alleged.
The Israeli military did not specify the date of the strike on Dib, but the Hezbollah-run Al Ahed News indicated that he was killed on March 18 in an airstrike that targeted his vehicle near the Al Zaatari Mosque in Sidon.
On March 20, Hamas announced the death of Ahmad Hamdan Abdullah, another Hamas commander in the group’s branch in Lebanon, stating that he was initially wounded nine days before.
“The Qassam martyr commander: Ahmad Hamdan Abdullah (Hajj Iyad), who ascended after succumbing to severe wounds he sustained at dawn on Wednesday, 22 Ramadan 1447 AH (March 11, 2026), following a cowardly assassination operation he was subjected to in the Lebanese capital, Beirut,” Hamas stated.
In addition, on March 15, the Lebanese news outlet Lebanon Debate reported that “two guided missiles” targeted a building in the Sharhabil area of Sidon, killing another Hamas official, Wissam Taha.
According to the Israeli news site Makor Rishon, Taha was publicly portrayed as someone who fundraised for non-governmental organizations and operated through Lebanese groups focused on “sustainable development,” a cover for raising funds tied to Hamas’s financial network. Makor Rishon also noted that Wissam’s brother, Jihad Taha, is a senior commander and an international spokesperson for Hamas, highlighting the family’s close ties to the organization’s leadership.
Israeli strikes against Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad networks operating in Lebanon have primarily targeted senior operatives, trainers, and facilitators embedded within Palestinian factions in Lebanon. These operations have included numerous targeted killings, such as the March 2026 strike in Tripoli that eliminated Hamas commander Wasim Atallah Ali, who was responsible for training the group’s Lebanese branch.
More broadly, Israel has treated Lebanon as another front against Palestinian terrorist groups and conducted a sustained campaign of targeted strikes against Hamas infrastructure and personnel there since late 2023. These operations often focus on disrupting financing, recruitment, and external plotting networks, particularly those linked to the Axis of Resistance, the regional collection of Iranian-led proxy groups.
Joe Truzman is an editor and senior research analyst at FDD's Long War Journal focused primarily on Palestinian armed groups and non-state actors in the Middle East.
Tags: Hamas, IDF, Israel, Israel Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad
