The Israeli Air Force targeted and killed a Hezbollah terrorist in the eastern part of Southern Lebanon on Friday, inside the security zone where Israeli soldiers are operating.
IDF troops identified the operative near an access shaft to an underground terror infrastructure at the Ali al-Taher Ridge, north of the Litani River and a few miles from Beaufort Castle, the IDF said in a statement.
The terrorist was killed in a precise aerial strike for posing an immediate threat to the troops, the army noted.
In an additional strike, the IAF eliminated a suspect traveling in a vehicle who posed a threat to IDF soldiers operating within the security zone, the military added, without specifying the exact location of the incident.
“IDF soldiers are operating in the Ali al-Taher Ridge area and will not allow Hezbollah terrorists to emerge from the underground terror infrastructure and operate in the area. The IDF will continue to operate to remove any threat to its soldiers and will not allow the Hezbollah terrorist organization to harm Israeli civilians,” the military said.
On June 19, Jerusalem agreed to a ceasefire in Lebanon, halting further operations against the Iranian proxy organization.
A week later, Israel signed an agreement framework with the Lebanese government that recognizes the IDF’s deployment in Southern Lebanon until such a time as Hezbollah terrorist networks are dismantled in the area.
Following these developments, reports surfaced that a few dozen Hezbollah terrorists are trapped in a complex underground compound in the Ali al-Taher Ridge area.
On Thursday, the IDF said that Israeli troops operating in southwestern Lebanon had destroyed additional Hezbollah tunnel routes and uncovered large weapons caches during ongoing operations near the village of Majdal Zoun, several miles from the Mediterranean shore.
The tunnels, uncovered by soldiers from the 551st Paratroopers Brigade and the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit, had a combined length of approximately 200 meters (656 feet) and reached a depth of about 20 meters (66 feet), according to the military.
Inside the tunnels, troops found living quarters, three launch shafts aimed toward Israel and dozens of weapons. During additional searches in the area, soldiers uncovered caches containing mortars, rocket launchers, RPGs and other weapons.
