The Israel Defense Forces on Saturday killed a member of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force who had been involved in efforts to reestablish terrorist infrastructure in the area of Khiam in southeastern Lebanon’s Nabatieh Governorate, the military said.
The IDF said that the terrorist’s activities constituted “a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” referring to the ceasefire agreement signed in November.
The Radwan Force is the Hezbollah unit tasked with infiltrating Israel, seizing areas along the northern border and abducting hostages as part of the terrorist group’s “Conquer the Galilee” plan.
Also on Saturday, the IDF killed the head of Hezbollah’s outpost in the Yohmor area of Southern Lebanon. According to the military, Ahmad Muhammad Salah was involved in efforts to reestablish the terrorist infrastructure of the Iranian proxy.
“The IDF will continue to operate to remove any threat posed to the State of Israel,” the military said.
On Thursday, the IDF killed two Hezbollah terrorists in separate strikes across Southern Lebanon, Hassan Ahmad Sabra—a Radwan Force commander—near Nabatieh, and a second operative who was rebuilding infrastructure in the Naqoura area.
On Tuesday morning, the Israeli Air Force carried out a broad wave of strikes targeting the Radwan Force in eastern Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley.
The targeted camps were “used by the Hezbollah terror group to train and prepare operatives for attacks against IDF forces and the State of Israel,” the military said, adding, “As part of this training, the terrorists conduct shooting drills and exercises with various types of weapons.”
Defense Minister Israel Katz said the strikes sent “a clear message to the Hezbollah terror group, which is plotting to rebuild its capabilities to raid Israel through the Radwan Force—and also to the Lebanese government, which is responsible for upholding the agreement.
“Every terrorist will be targeted, and every threat to the residents of the State of Israel will be thwarted,” he continued. “We will respond with maximum force to any attempt at rebuilding [Hezbollah].”
On Nov. 26, 2024, Jerusalem and Beirut signed a ceasefire deal aimed at ending more than a year of cross-border clashes between the IDF and Hezbollah. The Iranian-backed terrorist group began attacking the Jewish state in support of Hamas in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre.
Since the truce, the IDF has conducted frequent raids to stop Hezbollah from rebuilding terrorist infrastructure in Southern Lebanon and so violating the terms of the deal.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem has rejected demands to disarm in accordance with the ceasefire, warning last week that the terror group was “rebuilding, recovering and ready now” to take on the IDF.
Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on July 11 ruled out the possibility of normalizing relations with Jerusalem, though he expressed a desire to end the longstanding conflict with Israel.
“Peace is the lack of a state of war, and this is what matters to us in Lebanon at the moment. As for the issue of normalization, it is not currently part of Lebanese foreign policy,” Aoun said.
