WATCH: IDF troops find Hezbollah booby trap containing 2,000-pound bomb

The Israel Defense Forces have thwarted a major Hezbollah plot targeting ground troops in Southern Lebanon, uncovering and dismantling a booby-trapped pit containing nearly one ton of explosives, the military said on Wednesday.

The IDF said reserve troops from the 226th Brigade, operating under the 146th Division, uncovered the device during counter-terror operations south of the truce line established under the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement with Beirut.

The bomb, weighing approximately 900 kilograms, had been planted in the pit with the intent “to harm troops operating in the area,” added the statement.

In a separate raid, soldiers uncovered a Hezbollah site containing a stockpile of mortar shells and rockets that were intended for attacks on Israelis.

“The IDF will continue to operate with determination against threats to Israeli civilians and IDF troops, and is acting in accordance with directives from the political echelon,” stated the army.

A Defense Ministry civilian contractor was killed and another wounded in a Hezbollah drone strike in Southern Lebanon on Tuesday.

The victim, identified as Amer Hujirat, 44, from the northern Arab city of Shfaram, was operating heavy engineering equipment in the Aitaroun area near Bint Jbeil as part of efforts to dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure, military sources said.

Hezbollah began firing rockets and drones at Israel on March 2, after the Jewish state’s targeted killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Feb. 28.

In response to the terrorist organization’s violation of the U.S.-brokered Nov. 27, 2024, truce agreement, Jerusalem launched an aerial campaign against Hezbollah and ordered the IDF to advance and take control of additional areas in Southern Lebanon to halt cross-border attacks.

Jerusalem and Beirut on April 16 agreed to a 10-day ceasefire following mediation by U.S. President Donald Trump. Last week, the two countries agreed to extend the truce for three more weeks following historic direct talks in Washington, D.C.