The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday struck Hezbollah infrastructure located near the strategic Beaufort Ridge in southeastern Lebanon, including an underground terrorist site.
“A short while ago, the IDF struck military infrastructure, including underground infrastructure, at a Hezbollah site in which military activity was identified,” the military said.
“The existence of the site and the activity within it constitute a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the statement continued. “The IDF will continue to operate to remove any threat posed to the State of Israel.”
On Friday, the IDF targeted and killed Hezbollah terrorist Ahmad Naeem Maatouk, just north of the Litani River in the area of Sir El Gharbiyeh in Southern Lebanon.
Maatouk was a battalion staff commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force and was involved in planning and carrying out attacks against Israel during the current war, the IDF said.
“The terrorist’s actions constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” according to the military.
On Thursday, Israeli Air Force craft struck several targets of the Iran-backed Hezbollah terrorist group, including a rocket launcher, in Southern Lebanon. Three days earlier, the IDF killed a Hezbollah terrorist in the area of Tebnine, east of Tyre in Southern Lebanon. According to the military, the slain operative had been working to rebuild Hezbollah infrastructure in the nearby border town of Beit Lif.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel stands ready to support Lebanon in its efforts to disarm Hezbollah, and to work toward a secure future for both nations.
The premier hailed as a “momentous decision” Beirut’s approval in two Cabinet sessions on Aug. 5 and 7 of a U.S.-backed plan directing the Lebanese Armed Forces to begin disarming Hezbollah and all other non-state actors by the end of 2025.
U.S. envoy Thomas Barrack said on Tuesday that the Lebanese government is expected to present a proposal on Aug. 31 aimed at persuading Iran’s terrorist proxy to disarm without having to resort to force. He also said that Israel was expected to formulate its own framework for an IDF withdrawal once Lebanon announces its strategy.
Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) recently led a bipartisan delegation to Lebanon during which they called for Hezbollah to be disarmed and for U.S.-Lebanon relations to be strengthened.
“One of the keys to managing that reality is the full disarmament of Hezbollah,” Shaheen, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Aug. 26.
“That is why it’s so important to support the bold decisions that the country is making right now, strengthening the Lebanese Armed Forces, who are essential to securing the country’s future and borders, and advancing financial reforms that will put Lebanon’s economy on a more solid ground,” she said.
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) was also part of the trip.
The situation in Lebanon remains volatile following the end of Jerusalem’s truce with Beirut on Feb. 18. The deal that took effect on Nov. 27, 2024, ended more than a year of war, after Hezbollah began attacking the Jewish state the day after the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Although the IDF has withdrawn most of its ground forces, it still controls five strategic positions in Southern Lebanon. Israeli officials have stated that the troops will remain in these positions until the Lebanese army can maintain security there.
