Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Saturday killed 11 people, including a Hezbollah Radwan battalion commander and five of his family members, according to the Abu Ali Express outlet. The strikes on the villages of Ansar and Deir al-Zahrani were retaliation for a Hezbollah explosive drone attack that wounded three IDF soldiers overnight. Hezbollah issued a statement warning that Israeli violations will be met with an appropriate response.
Israeli airstrikes in southern Lebanon have killed 11 people, including a Hezbollah Radwan Force battalion commander and five of his family members, according to an update from the Abu Ali Express outlet. The strikes on the villages of Ansar and Deir al-Zahrani were retaliation for a Hezbollah explosive drone attack that wounded three IDF soldiers overnight. The IDF confirmed Saturday at 11:44 Jerusalem that it eliminated the Radwan battalion commander in the strike in Ansar, stating that the family members present at the site were collaterally killed and not the intended targets. The military also alleged that Hezbollah deliberately placed civilians inside the compound as human shields.
The sequence began around 2:30 a.m. Saturday, when an explosive drone struck IDF forces on the Ali al-Taher ridge in the southern Lebanon security zone, seriously wounding three soldiers from the Yaelam special engineering unit, as The Zioneer reported. In response, the Israeli Air Force struck a Hezbollah command headquarters in Ansar. The Prime Minister's Office said the compound was the source of the order for the drone attack. Initial Lebanese media reports counted seven killed. By 11:44 Jerusalem, the IDF confirmed the elimination of the Radwan commander and the human shields allegation. Later Saturday evening, Abu Ali Express updated the total to 11 killed across both Ansar and Deir al-Zahrani, including the Radwan battalion commander, five of his family members, and another Hezbollah commander.
The Ali al-Taher ridge has been a persistent flashpoint in the security zone. As The Zioneer has documented, the area has seen repeated ceasefire violations in recent weeks, including drone attacks, grenade assaults, and other incidents that have wounded dozens of IDF personnel. The Radwan Force is Hezbollah's elite special operations unit.
Hezbollah issued a statement warning that Israeli violations will be met with an "appropriate response." The group's next moves remain unclear, and the full death toll across both locations awaits further official confirmation from Lebanese sources.
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