JERUSALEM: Israel’s army on Monday said it had killed a “central figure” in Syria responsible for Hamas rocket attacks against Israel.

The military said Hassan Akasha had been “eliminated” in Beit Jinn, an area under Syrian government control close to the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights.

“He was a central figure responsible for rockets fired by Hamas from Syrian territory toward Israel in recent weeks,” the army said in a statement.

“Since the beginning of the war, Akasha directed Hamas terrorist cells which fired rockets from Syria toward Israeli territory.”

The killing comes at a time of heightened regional tensions as Israel’s war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas rages in the Gaza Strip.

The war erupted on October 7 when Hamas militants carried out a deadly attack on southern Israel, resulting in the deaths of around 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s retaliatory land, air and sea assault has killed at least 23,084 people in Gaza, the majority of them women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

Israel rarely comments on individual strikes targeting Syria, but it has repeatedly said it will not allow arch foe Iran, which backs Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government, to expand its presence there.

“We will not allow terrorism from Syrian territory and hold Syria responsible for all activity emanating from its territory,” the Israeli army statement said.

There was no immediate comment from Hamas.