An Israeli drone strike near the Lebanon-Syria border on Monday resulted in the death of Mohammed Baraa Katerji, a well-known Syrian businessman with close ties to President Bashar Assad’s government and sanctions from the United States. The strike took place in the area of Saboura, inside Syria, after Katerji’s car crossed from Lebanon.
The Israel Defense Forces have conducted numerous airstrikes in recent years, primarily targeting Iran-backed groups and the Syrian military. However, it is uncommon for them to target individuals within the Syrian government.
The incident occurred amidst ongoing exchanges of fire between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah following the commencement of the Israel-Hamas war in early October.
An official from an Iran-backed group stated that Katerji was killed instantly while in his SUV on the highway connecting Lebanon and Syria. Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that Katerji, who was 48 years old, was targeted due to his financial support for the “Syrian resistance” in the Golan Heights and his connections with Iran-backed groups in Syria.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control had imposed sanctions on Katerji in 2018 for acting as a middleman for Assad in oil trading with the Islamic State group and facilitating weapons transfers from Iraq to Syria. The Katerji Company, led by Katerji and his brother Hussam, became involved in the oil business a few years after the conflict in Syria began in 2011.
Israel, committed to preventing Iranian influence in the region, has conducted numerous strikes on targets within Syria controlled by the government, although it rarely admits to these actions. The strike on Katerji is significant as it marks a departure from the typical targets of Israeli attacks.
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Albert Aji contributed to this report from Damascus, Syria.