Syrian businessman Mohammad Katerji killed in Israeli drone strike near Lebanon's border

Shafaq News/ On Monday, Syrian businessman Mohammad Baraa Katerji was killed when his car was targeted by an Israeli drone strike in Al-Saboura towards the Lebanon border.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, "An Israeli drone targeted a car carrying Mohammad Baraa Katerji in the Saboura area in the countryside of Damascus, resulting in his death along with another person who was with him."

The observatory clarified that Katerji was a businessman close to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, "responsible for financing the Syrian Resistance to Liberate the Golan faction, a group established years ago by the Lebanese Hezbollah party to carry out operations against Israel from southern Syria."

Israeli officials did not immediately comment on the strike.

Katerji belonged to a select group of entrepreneurs with close ties to Al-Assad family, gaining prominence during the Syrian civil war, which erupted in 2011.

Reuters reported that Katerji, alongside his brother Hussam, established a business empire involved in sectors such as oil, logistics, transport, and construction. Their enterprises face US sanctions for activities including "facilitating petroleum shipments and financing to the Syrian Regime," as noted on the US Treasury website.

Israel has conducted frequent airstrikes in Syria and Lebanon since October 7, following an attack by Hamas on Israeli border settlements and subsequent military operations in Gaza.

Iran-aligned groups like Lebanese Hezbollah and Shiite forces in Syria and Iraq have also engaged in hostilities with Israel since then, referring to their actions as a "support front" to the Palestinians in Gaza.