by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Worthy News Jerusalem Bureau Staff
(Worthy News) – The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a broad wave of strikes Thursday evening against Hezbollah military sites in southern Lebanon, escalating its campaign against the Iranian-backed terror group’s Radwan Force.
“The IDF has begun a wave of strikes targeting military sites of the terrorist organization Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon,” the army confirmed in a statement.
The strikes began about an hour after the military issued urgent evacuation orders to residents of several towns, including Mays al-Jabal, Kfar Tebnit, and Dibbin. Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson, warned civilians: “You are located in buildings used by the Hezbollah terrorist group. For your safety, you are required to evacuate these structures and adjacent buildings immediately and stay away from them for a distance of at least 500 meters.”
According to the IDF, at least six weapons storage facilities belonging to Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force were destroyed. The Radwan Force, long tasked with executing Hezbollah’s “Conquer the Galilee” plan, has been rebuilding its arsenal after key commanders were killed in Beirut during Operation Northern Arrows last September.
The military emphasized that the targeted depots had been deliberately embedded in densely populated neighborhoods, a hallmark of Hezbollah’s tactic of using civilians as human shields. Videos circulating online showed unmarked residential buildings erupting with secondary explosions, confirming hidden weapons caches inside.
In addition to the strikes in Mays al-Jabal, Kfar Tebnit, and Dibbin, the IDF issued further evacuation orders for Tair Zebna and Borj Qalaouiye, where additional airstrikes are expected.
Meanwhile, Israeli officials announced earlier Thursday that Hussein Saifo Sharif, a senior Hezbollah arms dealer operating out of Baalbek, northeast of Beirut, had been eliminated. Sharif allegedly directed terrorists in Syria to carry out attacks against Israel, in violation of the November 2024 ceasefire agreement that ended more than a year of hostilities.
“This activity constitutes a blatant violation of the understanding between Israel and Lebanon,” the IDF said, vowing to “continue to operate to remove any threat to the State of Israel.”
The latest escalation follows a series of targeted strikes this week. On Monday, the IDF hit a Hezbollah headquarters in Nabatieh, and earlier that day eliminated a Hezbollah operative in Yater, just two miles from Israel’s northern border. On Sunday, Muhammad Ali Yassin, a senior Hezbollah figure involved in weapons production, was killed in Nabatieh.
The Upper Galilee Regional Council notified residents that no changes had been made to civilian defense guidelines, but warned that “explosions will be heard in the Galilee and Golan Heights.”
The confrontation remains tense months after the collapse of a truce on Feb. 18. Hezbollah resumed attacks against Israel immediately after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas-led massacre. While Israel has withdrawn most of its ground troops from Lebanon, it still holds five strategic positions in the south, insisting they will remain under IDF control until the Lebanese Armed Forces prove capable of ensuring security.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi said last week that Beirut’s army will disarm Hezbollah in southern Lebanon within three months, though Israeli officials remain skeptical.
Copyright 1999-2025 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Israeli officials are preparing to brief President Donald Trump on new military options against Iran when he meets later this month with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, amid growing concern that Tehran is rapidly rebuilding its ballistic missile program and restoring damaged air defenses, according to an NBC News exclusive citing a person with direct knowledge of the plans and multiple former U.S. officials.
Israel, Greece, and Cyprus have agreed to accelerate a long-discussed regional energy and security partnership, pledging deeper cooperation amid rising instability in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean.
The United States has seized another crude oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, marking the second such operation in less than two weeks as President Donald Trump intensifies pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his government.
Ukraine’s military says it is attempting to halt a Russian incursion into a border village in the northeastern Sumy region, even as diplomatic efforts continue to seek an end to the nearly four-year war.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for “peaceful coexistence” as his nation marked the first anniversary of a deadly car-ramming attack at a Christmas market in eastern Germany that revived a debate about the influx of migrants from mainly Muslim countries.
With Christmas approaching, a Christian worker and his family have fled a brick kiln in Pakistan where they were effectively held in modern-day slavery by their Muslim employer, amid continuing concerns over the safety of Christian girls in the mainly Islamic nation, investigators told Worthy News.
Jerusalem will host a high-level trilateral summit on Monday as Israel, Greece, and Cyprus move to deepen security, energy, and strategic cooperation amid growing concern over Turkey’s expanding military posture in the eastern Mediterranean.