Four IDF soldiers were killed Friday during an operation to seize a Hezbollah tunnel network on the Ali Taher ridge, a security roundup reports. Hezbollah also fired 147 rockets, 20 drones, and 9 anti-tank missiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon; the IDF struck back.
A Saturday evening roundup by Abu Ali Express reports that four IDF soldiers were killed on Friday during an operation to seize a Hezbollah tunnel network on the Ali Taher ridge in southern Lebanon. The same report states Hezbollah fired 147 rockets, 20 drones, and 9 anti-tank missiles at Israeli troops in the area, and that the IDF responded with strikes. The roundup presents the tunnel-operation frame for the soldiers' deaths — a development The Zioneer has been tracking since earlier Friday.
The Zioneer has reported on the soldiers' deaths in a sequence of updates through Friday. Initial reports (published Fri 09:31 Jerusalem) said four soldiers were killed overnight in an anti-tank missile strike, without a tunnel context. By later Friday morning (Fri 09:31 Jerusalem), the IDF disclosed the soldiers — including 52nd Battalion commander Lt. Col. Dor Gedalia Ben Simhon — were engaged in an operation to seize a large underground Hezbollah network on the Ali al-Taher ridge, described as the group's main headquarters in southern Lebanon. The IDF said dozens of Hezbollah operatives were trapped inside and fighting continued underground. The specific numbers of cross-border fire (147 rockets, 20 drones, 9 ATGMs) are new to this update.
As The Zioneer reported on Friday evening (Fri 20:24 Jerusalem), Prime Minister Netanyahu said he ordered the IDF to strike 150 Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and that dozens of operatives were killed, following the soldiers' deaths which he defined as a ceasefire violation. The desk has also covered the broader context of ongoing Hezbollah fire and Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon (Bulletins of Jun 15-16; Jun 19-20 Jerusalem).
Unconfirmed details: whether all four soldiers were killed in the same tunnel operation on the Ali Taher ridge, and the exact locations from which the Hezbollah fire was launched and the Israeli retaliatory strikes. The roundup does not name the fallen soldiers.
10 developments
- DevelopingIDF says it struck 70+ Hezbollah sites, eliminated seven operatives from underground route
- DevelopingIDF kills two Hezbollah operatives fleeing rocket launch site in southern Lebanon
- StrongIDF says Hezbollah fired over 50 rockets at troops in south Lebanon overnight; strikes dozens of targets in response
- StrongHezbollah footage claims to show anti-tank missile strike on IDF tank that killed four soldiers
Source and signal
- Internal intake