The Israel Defense Forces killed a senior Hezbollah terrorist operative near Yanouh in Southern Lebanon’s Tyre District on Monday morning.
“The IDF struck in the area of Yanouh and eliminated Ahmad Ali Salami, a terrorist who served as Hezbollah’s head of artillery in the area,” the military said. “The terrorist’s activities constituted a violation of the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
Salami “carried out numerous terror attacks throughout the war against IDF troops and the State of Israel, and recently operated to rehabilitate the artillery capabilities of the terrorist organization from within the civilian population in Lebanon,” according to the IDF statement.
The military said it was “aware of the claim that uninvolved civilians were killed” and emphasized that the incident was being reviewed.
According to the IDF, several steps were taken to mitigate possible harm to noncombatants, “including the use of precise munitions and aerial surveillance.” It added that “the IDF regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians and operates to minimize harm as much as possible.”
Also on Monday, IDF troops eliminated a second Hezbollah terrorist in the Ayta ash-Shaab area in Southern Lebanon.
The unidentified terrorist was involved in gathering intelligence on IDF troops and operated to rehabilitate Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure in the area, according to an IDF statement.
The terrorist’s activities constituted a violation of the ceasefire understandings between Israel and Lebanon, the military said.
Hezbollah began attacking Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after the Hamas-led terror assault on southern Israel, opening a second front along the northern border that lasted until a truce took effect on Nov. 27, 2024.
‘Israel’s security and Lebanon’s future’
Under the U.S.-brokered deal, Hezbollah was required to demilitarize, beginning in areas adjacent to the border, with the Lebanese Armed Forces tasked with establishing an arms monopoly in the country.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office noted in a Jan. 8 statement that while Beirut’s efforts were “an encouraging beginning,” they were “far from sufficient” given Hezbollah’s ongoing Iran-aided rearmament efforts.
“The ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States between Israel and Lebanon states clearly that Hezbollah must be fully disarmed,” it stated. “This is imperative for Israel’s security and Lebanon’s future.”
January saw a sharp rise in Israeli strikes in Lebanon, with 87 operations reported—more than twice December’s total and the highest monthly figure since the truce, according to analysis of the data published last week by the Israel-based Alma Research and Education Center.
Nearly half of the strikes hit targets north of the Litani River, Hezbollah’s main stronghold, focusing on terror infrastructure. In total, 21 terrorists were slain during the month: 20 from Hezbollah and one from Hamas.
Overnight on Sunday, IDF troops, during a raid in Lebanon, arrested a senior operative from Jamaa Islamiya, a Muslim Brotherhood-linked terror organization that coordinates with Hamas and Hezbollah.
The IDF noted that Jamaa Islamiya, which maintains particularly close relations with Hamas, “advanced terror attacks against the State of Israel and its civilians in the north” throughout the two years of war.
“IDF troops will continue to operate to remove any threat against the State of Israel,” Monday morning’s military statement concluded.
