Israeli Channel 14 reported that estimates suggest the killing of Lebanese money changer Mohammad Sarour was an operation by Mossad, as he was wanted for his work for Iran and its allies, as well as his activities against Israel. Two judicial officials indicated that Sarour was lured to a woman's house east of Beirut, where he was shot six times, although it is believed that multiple individuals were involved in the operation.
Mohammad Sarour, who was under sanctions from the U.S. for facilitating the transfer of funds from Iran to the military wing of Hamas, was killed near Beirut, according to a security source who informed AFP on Wednesday. Sarour was found dead after being hit by at least five bullets on Tuesday in a house in the town of Baabda, overlooking the Lebanese capital, according to the same source.
Sarour worked in financial institutions affiliated with Hezbollah and has been on the U.S. sanctions list since 2019. The U.S. Treasury Department announced five years ago that it had imposed sanctions on four individuals, including Sarour, for facilitating the transfer of "tens of millions of dollars from the Quds Force," responsible for external operations in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, "to Hamas... through Hezbollah in Lebanon... to carry out terrorist operations originating from the Gaza Strip."
The U.S. Treasury noted at the time that Sarour was "responsible for transferring tens of millions of dollars annually from the Quds Force to the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades," the military wing of Hamas. It indicated that by 2014, Sarour was responsible for all financial transfers between the two parties and had "a long history of working at the Bayt al-Mal Bank." According to the statement, "Mohammad Sarour provides financial, material, technological support or financial services or others, to and from Hamas."
The Treasury mentioned that Sarour was "a financial operative linked to Hamas and Hezbollah" in the Lebanese capital and supervised the transfer of tens of millions of dollars annually from the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to the military wing of Hamas, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades. As of 2014, Sarour was identified as responsible for all financial transfers from the Quds Force to the al-Qassam Brigades.
