The Hamas leader Ahmed Muhammad Fahd led the movement's infrastructure work and was based in southern Syria. Israel's military claims that Fahd was responsible for "terror operations against its forces", including shelling against the Golan Heights, reports the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
At the same time, Tel Aviv is shaken by explosions, report local media. According to reports, rockets have struck the beach area, writes the news site Ynet.
There are also reports that rockets fired from Lebanon have been shot down in other parts of the country, according to The Jerusalem Post.
The rockets were fired after Israel's intense bombings of mainly the Beirut area and the Bekaa Valley in the past few hours.
The Shia militia Hezbollah is simultaneously taking responsibility for a rocket attack on the kibbutz Kabri in northern Israel. It is a response to "the barbaric Israeli attacks on cities, villages, and civilians", according to a statement reproduced by the AFP news agency.
