Syrian businessman Mohammad Katerji killed in Israeli drone strike near Lebanese border

Shafaq News/ Syrian businessman Mohammad Baraa Katerji was killed on Monday when his car was targeted by an Israeli drone strike in Al-Saboura near the Lebanese border.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, “an Israeli drone attacked a car carrying Mohammad Baraa Katerji in the Saboura area of ​​Damascus, resulting in his death and that of another person in his presence.”

The Observatory clarified that Katerji is a businessman close to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and “is responsible for financing the Syrian Resistance Faction for the Liberation of the Golan Heights, a group created years ago by the Lebanese Hezbollah to carry out operations against Israel from southern Syria.”

Israeli officials initially made no comment on the attack.

Katerji was one of a select group of businessmen with close ties to the Assad family and rose to prominence during the Syrian civil war that broke out in 2011.

Reuters reported that Katerji, along with his brother Hussam, built a business empire in oil, logistics, transportation and construction. Their companies are subject to US sanctions for activities such as “facilitating oil shipments and financing the Syrian regime,” according to the US Treasury Department’s website.

Israel has carried out frequent air strikes in Syria and Lebanon since October 7, following a Hamas attack on Israeli border settlements and subsequent military operations in the Gaza Strip.

Groups allied with Iran, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Shiite forces in Syria and Iraq, have also since become involved in hostilities with Israel, describing their actions as a “support front” for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.