The IDF announced Saturday evening that it eliminated a Radwan Force battalion commander in an overnight strike on a Hezbollah command post in the village of Ansar, southern Lebanon. Family members present at the site also died; the military stressed they were not the intended targets. The operation follows earlier reports of family casualties in the same incident.
The IDF confirmed Saturday evening that a Radwan Force battalion commander was killed in a precision strike overnight on a Hezbollah command post in the village of Ansar, southern Lebanon. Family members present at the site also died; the military stressed they were not the intended targets.
Earlier Saturday, at 11:44 Jerusalem, Israeli media reported that a Hezbollah battalion commander had been killed in strikes in southern Lebanon, though the IDF had not yet officially confirmed the death. Shortly afterward, in a statement also released at 11:44 Jerusalem, the IDF said three soldiers had been seriously wounded in a Hezbollah attack and that in response, forces struck the command post, killing the commander—now identified as a Radwan Force battalion commander—and alleging that Hezbollah had placed civilians in the compound as human shields. At 18:09 Jerusalem, the IDF acknowledged that family members of a Radwan commander had been harmed in the strike, without naming the commander or confirming his status. Tonight’s statement provides the full confirmation of the commander’s elimination and the collateral nature of the family casualties.
The Radwan Force is Hezbollah’s special-operations unit, responsible for cross-border infiltration attacks against Israeli communities. The IDF has systematically targeted its leadership in recent months. As The Zioneer reported on June 20, troops have been engaged in operations to capture the terror group’s underground headquarters in southern Lebanon, including on the Ali Taher ridge.
The IDF has not released the name of the commander. Its earlier allegation that Hezbollah used civilians as human shields was not repeated in tonight’s statement.
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