The Israel Defense Forces eliminated more than 1,400 Hezbollah terrorists and dismantled over 4,300 terrorist infrastructure sites in Lebanon since the start of “Operation Roaring Lion” on Feb. 28, as five divisions continue to operate in Southern Lebanon, the military said on Friday.
Troops of the 162nd and 36th Divisions have dismantled more than 2,700 terrorist infrastructure sites and located over 250 weapons, including long-range rockets, anti-tank missiles, RPG launchers, firearms and explosive devices, the IDF said.
In addition, soldiers of the 91st, 98th, and 146th Divisions have dismantled more than 1,500 terrorist infrastructure sites and located over 1,000 weapons, including firearms, RPGs, explosive devices and additional military equipment.
The ground forces are supported by the Israeli Air Force, guiding aircraft to hit targets as required, the army noted.
In a separate statement, the IDF said that it has also destroyed more than 200 missile launchers, including roughly 1,300 launch tubes, and struck hundreds of Hezbollah artillery operatives.
The military moreover mentioned the killing of the artillery officer in Hezbollah’s Nasser Unit, named as Ali Kamel Abar al-Hassan, adding that it had also killed 15 other commanders responsible for artillery systems “in various sectors.”
Earlier on Friday, the Iranian-backed proxy fired rockets at Israel from a school compound in the Tir Zibneh area, near Tyre in southwestern Lebanon, the IDF said.
In response, “and in accordance with international law, the IDF struck the premises in order to remove the threat to the State of Israel,” the army said.
It added that it views Hezbollah’s “cynical use” of civilian infrastructure “with severity,” and that it will continue to defend Israel “in accordance with international law.”
In another incident, troops of the 162nd Division, aka the Steel Formation, uncovered a rocket launcher “which was loaded and aimed toward the State of Israel,” after which they “immediately” struck and destroyed it, the army stated.
The troops also found a tunnel shaft, which led to the discovery of anti-tank missiles, firearms and ammunition magazines belonging to Hezbollah.
Hezbollah vows to deter Israel
Meanwhile on Friday, Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem declared that his terrorist organization “will not accept a return to the previous situation,” referring to Israel’s free-rein firing policy across Lebanon since the November 2024 Beirut-Jerusalem agreement to prevent the Shi’ite group from rebuilding its military capabilities, according to AFP.
“We call on officials to stop offering free concessions [to Israel],” he said in a written message broadcast on Hezbollah’s Al-Manar satellite television station.
Qassem condemned the IAF’s strikes in Lebanon on April 8 as “bloody criminality,” the report added.
The IDF on Friday night shed some light on these airstrikes, which Defense Minister Israel Katz said constituted the largest attack on Hezbollah since the pager operation of Sept. 17-18, 2024, when the Mossad detonated thousands of communication devices used by the terrorist group, severely wounding thousands of operatives.
In the recent large-scale attack, at least 180 Hezbollah terrorists were eliminated in three areas simultaneously, the IDF said.
These consisted of about 35 military infrastructure sites in Beirut, including an emergency command center of Hezbollah’s intelligence unit, a command center of the Radwan Force, and a command center of the missile unit; about 40 infrastructure sites in Southern Lebanon; and additional sites in the Bekaa Valley, according to the IDF.
The military said that senior figures were struck as well, and the operation constitutes “a significant and deep blow to the operational and command capabilities of the Hezbollah terror organization.”
Most of these sites were embedded in the civilian population, the army added.
