Three soldiers were critically wounded overnight Friday into Saturday during operations in southern Lebanon when a Hezbollah explosive drone struck near their position. The drone hit close to a Yahalom unit operating under the Commando Brigade’s combat team on the Ali Taher ridge in the late night hours.
An officer and two soldiers were critically wounded in the strike. All three received initial medical treatment in the field and were rushed to Rambam Hospital in Haifa. The force was operating under the 36th Division as part of the IDF’s effort to corner dozens of terrorists trapped in Hezbollah tunnels on the ridge. Immediately after the incident, the IDF launched a wave of strikes against Hezbollah infrastructure across southern Lebanon. Among the targets was a major Hezbollah command center in the Ansar area. The facility served as a command hub for the organization’s operations in the region, and the strike killed Ali Samir al-Haj Hassan, a terrorist in the Radwan Force. Several other terrorists who were advancing terror plots against Israeli forces were also killed.
Hassan’s family was present at the military command center during the targeted strike and were reportedly injured. The IDF clarified that they were not the target of the attack, and that the terrorist used his family members as human shields, hiding with them inside the command center. The IDF emphasized it will not allow attacks on its forces and will continue operating to remove threats.