Beirut Strike Foiled Joint Hezbollah–Hamas Plot to Attack Israelis Overseas

Wednesday, 2 April 2025 | Israeli authorities said Tuesday they thwarted a major terrorist attack being planned against Israeli targets abroad, in what they described as one of the most serious plots in recent years.

The IDF and Shin Bet [Israeli internal security organization] security agency confirmed that the overnight airstrike in Beirut's Dahieh district, a Hezbollah stronghold, targeted and killed Hassan Ali Mahmoud Bdeir, a senior operative in Hezbollah’s Unit 3900 and the Iranian Quds Force.

According to Israeli intelligence, Bdeir played a central role in a joint terror network involving both Hezbollah and Hamas operatives—a rare instance of cooperation between the Shiite and Sunni terrorist groups. The network was reportedly planning an imminent large-scale attack abroad, which officials said could have killed hundreds of Israelis had it been carried out.

According to French news agency AFP, Bdeir served as deputy to Hezbollah’s chief coordinator for Palestinian affairs. Lebanese newspaper An-Nahar published a photograph of Bdeir aboard a plane with former Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the senior Iraqi militia leader who was killed alongside Soleimani in a US airstrike in 2020.

The strike was the result of an extended intelligence operation led by a specialized Shin Bet unit tasked with dismantling overseas Hamas networks. The unit has been especially active since the terrorist group was previously headed by senior Hamas figure Saleh al-Arouri, who was eliminated in an Israeli strike in Beirut early last year.

The intelligence for the operation was gathered by both Shin Bet and Military Intelligence, while the precision strike was executed by the Israeli Air Force. Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported four people were killed and seven injured in the strike.

Shin Bet and IDF officials said the operation prevented a potentially catastrophic attack and marked a significant blow to the collaboration between Hezbollah and Hamas beyond Israel’s borders. Israeli authorities noted that Hamas’ overseas network operates from countries including Turkey and is attempting to expand into parts of Europe.