The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) struck Hezbollah targets across southern Lebanon overnight and into Saturday, killing a Radwan Force battalion commander and several other terrorists after what the military described as Hezbollah action against Israeli troops operating in the Ali Taher Ridge security zone.
A Hezbollah explosive drone seriously wounded three Israeli soldiers on the Ali Taher Ridge on Saturday morning, according to Israeli reports.
The IDF said it targeted Hezbollah infrastructure in the Nabatieh and Ansar areas following action against soldiers stationed in the Ali Taher Ridge area. Lebanese reports initially said seven people were killed and two wounded in strikes in Ansar, with additional strikes reported around Ali Taher Ridge and al-Nabatieh al-Fawqa.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry later said seven people were killed in Ansar, claiming three children and two women were among the dead.
The IDF subsequently said a central Hezbollah command center in the Kafr Ansar area was among the targets. Ali Samir al-Haj Hassan, a battalion commander in Hezbollah’s Radwan Force, was killed along with several other terrorists, the military said.
Hassan’s family was inside the command center and was reportedly harmed, but the IDF said they had not been targeted.
“It should be emphasized that they were not the target of the strike,” the IDF said. “The terrorist used his family as human shields and hid with them inside the military command center.”
Another Israeli strike was reported in Deir ez-Zahrani in the Nabatieh region. Lebanese authorities later put the death toll there at four, with 17 people wounded. Lebanese reports said the combined toll from the strikes during the day reached 11 dead and 19 wounded.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam called the Israeli strikes a “dangerous” escalation that threatened efforts to establish stability. He said responsibility for addressing military structures on Lebanese territory belonged solely to the Lebanese state, army and legitimate institutions.
Hezbollah accused Lebanese authorities of making concessions to Israel and demanded an end to direct negotiations. The terrorist organization also threatened retaliation, saying Israel’s “aggression, violations and attempts to impose a fait accompli” would be met with “an appropriate response.”
