IDF says 350 terrorists killed in Lebanon campaign

More than 350 terrorists have been killed in southern Lebanon in recent weeks during operations targeting threats to Israeli civilians and troops, the Israel Defense Forces said on Tuesday.

The military said the strikes were carried out under existing understandings between Israel and Lebanon and included more than 1,100 Hezbollah targets. These included military structures, weapons-storage facilities, loaded launchers ready for use and other infrastructure, according to the IDF.

The IDF said it will continue operating to thwart threats in line with directives from Israel’s political leadership and existing bilateral understandings.

Also on Tuesday, Israel’s military highlighted the work of Golani Brigade troops over the past week in a special operation to clear terrorist infrastructure from the Litani River area and establish operational control in the area, which the IDF said is south of the Forward Defense Line.

The Golani soldiers, under the command of the 36th Division, located compounds used by Hezbollah terrorists, tunnel routes containing large amounts of weapons, weapons-storage facilities and missile launchers.

The Israeli Air Force struck more than 100 targets in support of troops during the special operation, according to the IDF, which added that troops killed dozens of terrorists in close-quarters combat, with aerial support.

 

“During one of the encounters, the troops located and cleared a significant underground tunnel route used by Hezbollah terrorists,” the military said.

The IDF also provided an update on Hezbollah attacks throughout Tuesday, including a failed surface-to-surface missile launch aimed at an Israeli Air Force aircraft. The IDF said no damage was caused and no soldiers were injured.

In what the military described as a “rapid response”, a terrorist fleeing the launch site on a motorcycle was struck. The IAF also intercepted “a number of suspicious aerial targets” identified in the area where soldiers were operating in southern Lebanon. No sirens were sounded, in accordance with protocol.

In an earlier incident on Tuesday, Hezbollah launched several explosive drones towards IDF soldiers operating in southern Lebanon, with no injuries reported.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese presidency said on Monday that President Joseph Aoun had briefed US Ambassador Michel Issa “on the latest developments related to the third Lebanese-American-Israeli meeting scheduled for this week in Washington”.

The presidency added in a post on X, alongside a photo of the meeting, that Aoun “emphasised the necessity of pressuring Israel to cease ceasefire violations, military operations and the demolition and bulldozing of homes.”

There was no mention of Iranian-backed Hezbollah’s ceasefire violations or the mandate to disarm the terrorist group.

The US embassy in Beirut had not issued an official statement on the meeting as of Tuesday.