The Israel Defense Forces on Saturday eliminated a Hezbollah terrorist in the area of Qalaouiyah in Southern Lebanon, the military announced Sunday.
The terrorist was involved in attempts to reestablish the Iranian-backed terror group’s infrastructure in the area, according to the IDF.
In a separate strike, Israeli forces targeted an engineering vehicle in the Blida area that was being used to rebuild Hezbollah sites, the army said.
The IDF accused Hezbollah of “continuing its efforts to reestablish terrorist infrastructure across Lebanon, while cynically exploiting the Lebanese population as human shields,” noting that its actions violate the truce understandings between Israel and the government in Beirut.
Also on Saturday, the IDF struck Hezbollah assets in Southern Lebanon, including engineering equipment it said was being used to rebuild military positions in the area.
“The Hezbollah terrorist organization continues its efforts to reestablish its infrastructure across Lebanon while cynically using the Lebanese population as human shields,” said the IDF.
The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, tasked with enforcing U.N. Resolution 1701 that ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War, said on Sunday that one of its peacekeepers was lightly injured over the weekend when an IDF drone dropped a grenade in Kafr Kela.
“Before the grenade was dropped, peacekeepers had observed two drones flying near their position,” UNIFIL said in a statement on X, urging the Israeli army to cease attacks “on or near” its operatives.
“This is the second IDF grenade attack on peacekeepers this month. It represents another serious violation of resolution 1701 and concerning disregard for the safety of peacekeepers implementing their mandate from the Security Council,” according to the United Nations mission.
The Israeli military on Friday dismantled a Hezbollah weapons facility in the area of Ayta ash-Shab in Southern Lebanon. Acting on intelligence, Israeli troops searched the site before demolishing the structure and seizing the weapons found inside.
“Hezbollah’s activity within the structure constitutes a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the IDF said, referring to the Nov. 27, 2024, ceasefire deal that ended more than a year of war.
The situation in Lebanon remains volatile following the end of the truce on Feb. 18. Hezbollah began launching missiles and drones at the Jewish state a day after the Hamas-led massacre on Oct. 7, 2023.
On Tuesday, the IDF killed Hezbollah terrorist Mahmoud Ali Issa in the Deir Aames area of Southern Lebanon’s Tyre District. Issa served as Hezbollah’s representative in the nearby Kara area, where he was responsible for managing the Iranian proxy’s financial and military ties with local residents.
Also on Tuesday, the Israeli military killed an unnamed Hezbollah terrorist operating an engineering vehicle in the Zibqin area of Southern Lebanon. The operative was targeted while attempting to rebuild terror infrastructure sites, according to the IDF.
A day earlier, the IDF struck several Hezbollah targets in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley, including military compounds belonging to the terror group’s Radwan Force. The facilities hosted live-fire exercises and weapons training for Hezbollah operatives, the army said.
Also on Monday, the IDF killed Hasan Ali Jamil Atwi, a senior operative in Hezbollah’s Aerial Defense Unit, in the Nabatieh area. According to the IDF, Atwi played a key role in rebuilding and rearming the unit and maintained contact with its leaders in Iran.
Although Jerusalem has withdrawn most of its ground forces since the war ended, it still controls five strategic sites in Southern Lebanon. Israeli officials have stated that the IDF will retain these positions until the Lebanese army demonstrates it can maintain security.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi said on Sept. 9 that the country’s armed forces will have fully disarmed Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon within three months.
Last month, Naim Qassem, the secretary-general of the Iranian proxy, said that Hezbollah will not lay down its arms, in a public show of defiance.
In response, U.S. President Donald Trump has approved $230 million in funding for Lebanon’s security forces. In an email, a State Department spokesperson said the assistance would support the effort “to assert Lebanese sovereignty across the country and fully implement U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, the only viable framework for a durable security arrangement for both Lebanese and Israelis.”
The U.N. resolution, adopted in the aftermath of the 2006 Second Lebanon War between Israel and Hezbollah, calls for the terror proxy to disarm and withdraw from Southern Lebanon, with the Lebanese army and the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) tasked with securing the area.
