In a series of intense airstrikes, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Thursday that they have killed approximately 200 Hezbollah operatives and destroyed 140 rocket launchers in southern Lebanon over the past week. The IDF described the launchers as posing an “immediate threat” to both Israeli civilians and soldiers along the northern border, targeting several that had launched rockets toward the Western Galilee and central Israel earlier in the week.
Among those killed were high-ranking Hezbollah members, including the head of battalion operations and the anti-tank unit commander from Hezbollah’s Radwan Force in the coastal sector. “These attacks have significantly impaired Hezbollah’s capacity to execute operations against Israel from southern Lebanon,” the IDF stated.
Meanwhile, Lebanese media reported additional airstrikes on Beirut’s Dahieh district, a stronghold of Hezbollah. The IDF claimed responsibility, stating that a substantial portion of Hezbollah’s weaponry storage and production sites—concealed within civilian buildings—had been destroyed. These sites, according to the IDF, have facilitated the production and storage of hundreds of missiles intended for attacks against Israel.
The recent escalation follows the Hamas attacks on October 7, which claimed the lives of 1,200 people and resulted in the capture of 252 Israelis and foreign nationals. Since then, Hezbollah has intensified its assault on northern Israeli communities, displacing over 68,000 residents. Hezbollah’s leadership has signaled that these attacks will continue to prevent Israeli civilians from returning to their homes.
