Three Israeli soldiers were seriously wounded Friday night after a Hezbollah explosive drone struck IDF forces operating in southern Lebanon. In response, the Israeli military launched airstrikes that killed a senior Hezbollah commander and several other terrorists involved in planning attacks against Israeli troops.
The IDF said an officer and two soldiers sustained serious injuries when an explosive UAV hit their position in southern Lebanon. All three were evacuated to a hospital for treatment, and their families were informed.
According to the military, the drone attack targeted IDF troops operating in the Ali al-Taher Ridge area within the security zone established by Israel in southern Lebanon.
The IDF responded by striking Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in the Nabatieh and Ansar areas of southern Lebanon. The military said the targeted headquarters served as a command center from which Hezbollah directed terrorist operations in the region.
Among those killed in the strike was Ali Samir Al-Haj Hassan, identified by the IDF as a battalion commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force.
The military said several additional terrorists were also eliminated in the operation. According to the IDF, those killed had been actively involved in planning and advancing attacks against Israeli forces operating in the security zone.
The IDF acknowledged reports that members of Hassan’s family were present inside the command center during the strike.
“At the time of the strike, Hassan’s family was also present with him inside the military headquarters and, according to the claim, was harmed in the strike. It should be emphasized that the family members were not the target of the strike.”
The military stressed that Hassan himself was the intended target and accused Hezbollah of deliberately placing civilians at risk.
“The strike was specifically directed at Hassan, who was a lawful target under international law. The terrorist used his family as human shields, hiding alongside them inside the military headquarters.
“The IDF remains committed to the ceasefire agreement and will not allow the Hezbollah terrorist organization to harm Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers.”
Earlier Saturday, the Prime Minister’s Office took the unusual step of issuing a public statement on Shabbos, departing from its customary practice.
“This morning Hezbollah violated the ceasefire in Lebanon by attacking our soldiers in the security zone, which protects Israeli communities just across the border,” the statement read. “The Hezbollah attack seriously injured three of our soldiers. The IDF responded by striking the Hezbollah terror headquarters which ordered the attack.”
The statement added that Israeli officials were initially unaware that civilians had been inside the compound.
“Only later did the IDF learn that Hezbollah deliberately put civilians in that military compound.
“Hezbollah is willing to do anything, including using its own civilians as human shields, to falsely accuse Israel of deliberately targeting civilians, which the IDF clearly did not.”
Lebanese media reported that 11 people were killed in the Israeli strikes. Israeli officials maintained that Hezbollah intentionally embedded civilians within the military facility in an effort to use them as human shields and shift responsibility for civilian casualties onto Israel.
In a separate incident in southern Lebanon, the IDF said soldiers from the Paratroopers Brigade killed two terrorists after they crossed the Blue Line and advanced toward Israeli troops in a manner the military described as posing an immediate threat.
