by Emmitt Barry, with reporting from Worthy News Jerusalem Bureau Staff
(Worthy News) – The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Thursday carried out a sweeping wave of airstrikes targeting Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force and its terror infrastructure across southern Lebanon, marking one of the largest military operations since the November 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.
According to the IDF, the strikes — conducted under the Northern Command and executed by the Air Force — hit “terror infrastructure and several weapons storage facilities of the Radwan Force in Southern Lebanon.” The Radwan Force is Hezbollah’s special operations unit tasked with infiltrating northern Israel under the group’s “Conquer the Galilee” plan.
“Hezbollah continues efforts to rehabilitate terrorist infrastructure in Southern Lebanon and is concentrating on rebuilding the unit’s capabilities with the aim of harming the State of Israel,” the IDF said in a statement.
Evacuation Warnings and Civilian Precautions
Before the strikes, the IDF issued evacuation warnings for Lebanese civilians in several towns, including Kfar Dounine, Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, Ayta al-Jabal, Taybeh, and Tayr Debba.
“For your safety, you are required to evacuate those buildings and the adjacent buildings immediately and distance yourselves from them by no less than 500 meters,” said IDF Arabic-language spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee.
The IDF said the targeted sites — including weapons depots and command facilities — were “located in the heart of civilian populations,” calling it “another example of Hezbollah’s cynical use of Lebanese civilians as human shields.”
Targeted Operations in Tyre and Beyond
Earlier Thursday, Israeli fighter jets struck a Hezbollah facility in the Tyre area used to manufacture materials for rebuilding terror infrastructure. The military said the site was part of the terror group’s “construction unit” and was being used to produce equipment to restore previously destroyed facilities.
The IDF confirmed that the targeted structures violated the ceasefire understandings signed on November 26, 2024, between Jerusalem and Beirut, which prohibit Hezbollah activity south of the Litani River.
Since the truce, Israel has conducted repeated precision raids to stop Hezbollah from reestablishing military positions in southern Lebanon. The IDF says it will “continue to act to remove any threat to the State of Israel’s territory.”
Heightened Tensions and Strategic Calculations
The latest strikes follow weeks of escalating Hezbollah provocations, with Israeli officials warning that the Iranian-backed militia is “playing with fire.” Israel’s Security Cabinet convened Thursday evening in Jerusalem to assess the northern front amid reports that the military is preparing contingency plans for a new round of fighting.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, issued an open letter to Lebanon’s president, parliament speaker, and prime minister, rejecting negotiations with Israel and warning that such talks “pose existential risks that threaten Lebanon’s sovereignty.”
The terror group insisted it retains a “legitimate right to resist Israeli occupation,” even as Beirut faces mounting pressure from the United States and Egypt to disarm Hezbollah in compliance with the ceasefire deal and U.N. resolutions.
U.S. Response and Diplomatic Context
U.S. Special Envoy for Syria and Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack recently told the International Institute for Strategic Studies Manama Dialogue that Hezbollah maintains between 15,000 and 20,000 rockets and continues to rearm in violation of the ceasefire. He added that Washington supports diplomatic disarmament but “would back Israel’s plans if the terrorists refuse to engage in good faith.”
“Israel’s point of view is that Hezbollah is actually rebuilding all the way along the Bekaa Valley,” Barrack said, underscoring Israel’s refusal to withdraw forces from border positions captured during last year’s fighting.
Hezbollah Losses Mount
The latest campaign follows the IDF’s killing of Hussein Jaber Dib, a senior Radwan Force operative, in a drone strike near Burj Rahal on Wednesday. Israel says Dib was responsible for “advanced terror attacks” against the Jewish state. According to the IDF, more than 330 Hezbollah operatives have been killed since the November 2024 truce — including 20 in the past month alone.
Defense Minister Israel Katz warned this week that Israel “will intensify operations until Hezbollah ceases its violations,” accusing Lebanese President Joseph Aoun of “dragging his feet” on the disarmament issue.
“The Lebanese government’s commitment to remove Hezbollah from southern Lebanon must be implemented,” Katz said. “We will not allow any threat to the residents of the north.”
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
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