After Hezbollah violated the ceasefire over the weekend and wounded three IDF soldiers, Lebanon reported extensive Israeli strikes in the area of the Ali Taher ridge in the country’s south. According to the reports, the Air Force carried out a wave of strikes in the ridge area, including in the villages of Ruman and Deir Siryan. Meanwhile, Lebanon reported extensive artillery fire toward targets in those villages and additional areas. Lebanese media also claimed that alongside the airstrikes and artillery fire, Israeli ground forces were active in the area.
Our correspondent Hallel Biton Rosen reports that Israeli security officials estimate the explosive drone fired at Israeli forces on Saturday—which wounded several of them—was launched from underground infrastructure at Ali Taher, leading to the understanding that the terrorists hiding there are prepared to fight rather than surrender.
The strikes come after the unusual incident in which an officer and two soldiers from the Yahalom combat engineering unit were wounded by an explosive drone detonated near them in the Ali Taher ridge area. The incident occurred around 2:30 a.m. The Prime Minister’s Office announced the soldiers’ injuries in an official and unusual statement published during the Sabbath in English. The statement said that “Hezbollah violated the ceasefire in Lebanon by attacking our soldiers in the security zone protecting Israeli communities across the border. Hezbollah’s attack seriously wounded three of our soldiers.”
The Prime Minister’s Office further stated that following the attack, the IDF responded by striking “the Hezbollah terror headquarters that ordered the attack.” Shortly after the Prime Minister’s Office announcement, the IDF released an additional statement saying that as part of the retaliatory strikes, it eliminated the terrorist Ali Hassan, a battalion commander in Hezbollah’s Radwan Force.
After the Sabbath ended, the IDF officially updated that the officer and two soldiers wounded in the incident were evacuated and hospitalized at Rambam Hospital. Two of them were listed in serious condition, while the third soldier was listed in moderate condition.
According to the IDF statement on the Lebanon operation, Israeli forces struck a central Hezbollah headquarters in al-Ansar in southern Lebanon overnight. The strike was carried out in response to the terror organization’s action against IDF forces operating in the security zone in accordance with the ceasefire agreement.
The IDF said that alongside the battalion commander, additional terrorists were eliminated in the strike who were working to advance terror operations against IDF forces in the security zone.
The IDF further stated that Hassan’s family was also present at the military headquarters during the strike and, according to the claim, was harmed in the attack. The IDF emphasized that the family members were not the target of the operation.
“It should be emphasized that they were not the target of the strike. The strike was directed in a focused manner at Hassan, who was a legitimate target for attack under international law. The terrorist used his family as human shields and hid with them inside the military headquarters,” the military statement said.
The IDF added: “The IDF will not allow the Hezbollah terror organization to harm the citizens of the State of Israel and its forces, and will continue to act to remove threats.”