Israel launched a series of heavy airstrikes and artillery attacks in southern Lebanon overnight Saturday, following a Hezbollah explosive-drone attack that seriously wounded three Israeli soldiers operating in the Ali al-Taher ridge area.
Lebanese reports said Israeli aircraft struck targets around the strategic ridge, with footage showing explosions and large columns of smoke. The attacks followed an Israeli warning to residents of northern communities that they should expect loud explosions during an extensive military operation in Lebanon.
The latest escalation represents one of the most serious tests of the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah since it took effect in June. Lebanese authorities said Saturday that Israeli strikes across southern Lebanon killed at least 11 people, including children, while Israel said it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure and commanders.
3 Israeli soldiers wounded in Hezbollah attack
The escalation began early Saturday morning, when Hezbollah launched an explosive drone toward an IDF force operating in the Ali al-Taher ridge area in southern Lebanon.
Three Israeli soldiers were wounded in the attack. Two were reported to be in serious condition and receiving intensive medical treatment, while a third soldier was listed in moderate condition.
The IDF subsequently launched strikes against Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon.
The Ali al-Taher ridge has emerged as a strategically important area in the fighting because of the extensive underground infrastructure believed to have been developed by Hezbollah there. Previous assessments have described the area as containing tunnels, command-and-control facilities and weapons storage sites.
Israeli response targets Hezbollah strongholds
Following the drone attack, Israel carried out strikes against Hezbollah infrastructure in several locations, including the areas of Ali al-Taher and Ansar.
One of the strikes targeted a Hezbollah command facility in Ansar and killed a commander of the organization's elite Radwan Force, according to Israeli officials and subsequent reports. Israel said the commander had operated from a site where members of his family were also present.
Lebanese authorities, however, reported civilian casualties in the strike. At least seven people were reportedly killed in the Ansar attack, including three children and two women, according to Lebanese sources. Another four people were reported killed in a strike in Deir al-Zahrani.
The IDF said the attacks were carried out in response to Hezbollah's action against Israeli troops and were directed at military infrastructure belonging to the organization.
Residents warned to expect explosions
Ahead of the overnight operation, Israeli authorities warned residents of Kiryat Shmona and communities in the Upper Galilee that they could hear heavy explosions throughout the night.
The IDF and Northern Command stressed that the activity was planned and offensive rather than the result of an immediate threat to Israeli communities.
Residents were told that there had been no change in the existing defensive instructions, but that military activity in Lebanon would include heavy artillery fire and airstrikes.
Strategic battle for Ali al-Taher
The Ali al-Taher ridge has become one of the most sensitive areas in the current confrontation.
The elevated terrain overlooks the Nabatieh region and is believed to contain important Hezbollah military infrastructure. Israeli forces have previously operated in the area to prevent Hezbollah operatives from emerging from underground facilities and to destroy tunnels and weapons infrastructure.
The fighting has therefore increasingly focused not only on surface positions but also on Hezbollah's underground network.
Israeli forces have sought to prevent Hezbollah from using the tunnel system to maintain a military presence close to Israeli positions, while Hezbollah has attempted to preserve its ability to operate in the area.
A fragile ceasefire under growing pressure
The latest confrontation comes less than two months after a U.S.-mediated ceasefire framework was reached between Israel and Lebanon.
The agreement was intended to reduce hostilities and create a framework linking the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon to the disarmament of Hezbollah and the assumption of security responsibilities by the Lebanese army.
The arrangement has remained fragile. Israel has said it will not complete its withdrawal until Hezbollah is disarmed, while Hezbollah has rejected disarmament demands and insists that Israel withdraw first.
The United States has sought to keep the framework alive, but the latest escalation illustrates the difficulty of maintaining the ceasefire while Hezbollah's military infrastructure remains active in southern Lebanon.
Lebanon condemns Israeli strikes
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that civilians killed in the strikes should not be considered military targets. President Joseph Aoun also warned that the attacks could undermine efforts to stabilize the situation and advance negotiations.
Hezbollah, meanwhile, accused Israel of escalating the confrontation and vowed that the attacks would receive a response.
Israel accuses Hezbollah of using civilians
The Israeli government has defended the strike in Ansar by arguing that the targeted Hezbollah commander deliberately operated from a location where civilians, including members of his family, were present.
The Prime Minister's Office issued an unusually direct statement in English, accusing the commander of surrounding himself with family members and other civilians in an attempt to prevent an Israeli strike.
Lebanese officials have rejected that characterization and accused Israel of striking residential areas.
The competing accounts underscore the increasingly difficult environment surrounding Israeli military operations in southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah's military infrastructure is embedded in populated areas.
Escalation risks beyond the battlefield
The latest exchange comes at a particularly sensitive moment for the U.S.-backed diplomatic process between Israel and Lebanon.
The escalation could further complicate negotiations over Hezbollah's disarmament, Israeli military positions in southern Lebanon and the role of the Lebanese armed forces in securing the region.
For Israel, the drone attack demonstrates that Hezbollah retains the ability to strike Israeli forces despite the ceasefire framework. For Hezbollah and the Lebanese government, the Israeli response reinforces concerns that continued Israeli military presence in southern Lebanon could become open-ended.
The coming days will therefore be critical in determining whether the latest violence remains a limited round of retaliation or develops into a broader confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah.
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