An Israeli drone strike on a car near the Lebanon-Syria border resulted in the death of Mohammed Baraa Katerji, a prominent Syrian businessman with close ties to the government of President Bashar Assad. Katerji, who had been sanctioned by the United States, was killed instantly in his SUV on the highway linking Lebanon with Syria. The strike was reportedly carried out by Israel, although details remain scarce.
Katerji's involvement in funding the Syrian resistance against Israel in the Golan Heights and his connections to Iran-backed groups in Syria are believed to be possible reasons for his targeting. The U.S. Treasury Department had previously sanctioned Katerji in 2018 for his alleged role as Assad's middleman in trading oil with the Islamic State group and facilitating weapons shipments from Iraq to Syria.
