The IDF carried out two strikes on armed Hezbollah cells near the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon on Tuesday afternoon, the military reports. In one engagement, 2-3 operatives advancing toward Israeli troops were eliminated before crossing the Security Zone boundary. In a separate strike, a four-man cell in civilian guise was hit by a drone and small-arms fire, killing two and wounding two.
In two strikes on Tuesday afternoon, the IDF said it targeted armed Hezbollah cells operating near the Ali al-Taher ridge in southern Lebanon, eliminating at least four operatives and wounding two, according to military statements. The operation, confirmed around 13:14 Jerusalem, unfolded as one cell of 2–3 operatives was struck while advancing toward Israeli troops near the Security Zone boundary, and a second cell of four operatives in civilian guise was hit by a drone and small-arms fire, leaving two killed and two wounded. The engagements follow a rapid sequence of IDF activity at the same ridge since early Tuesday: initial reports published at 13:14 Jerusalem described a single cell targeted north of the security zone, with local reports then noting one Lebanese killed and two wounded in Nabatieh al-Fawqa; by 14:19 Jerusalem, the military confirmed strikes on two separate cells, matching the latest account. The casualty figures for the operatives rely on the IDF's statements; independent battlefield verification is not yet available.
The ridge has been a persistent flashpoint. As The Zioneer reported on June 15 at 20:35 Jerusalem, Hezbollah fired two anti-tank missiles at an Israeli force advancing toward the same hill, in a clash that remained unverified by official Israeli sources. Earlier background noted that on Saturday June 20 at 08:26 Jerusalem, local sources reported five killed in an Israeli strike on the Ali Taher ridge, with Hezbollah said to maintain a major underground base there, though combatant status was unverified. The wider context includes the IDF's confirmed elimination of over 10 Hezbollah field commanders since the ceasefire (The Zioneer, June 14), and the recent combat death of four IDF soldiers on the same ridge on June 20.
What remains unverified: the identities and affiliations of the killed and wounded operatives, and whether any return fire was directed at Israeli forces. The IDF has not reported Israeli casualties in today's engagements.
4 developments
- ConfirmedIDF kills two Hezbollah operatives in northern border incident
- Developing4 IDF soldiers killed in Hezbollah tunnel-ambush in south Lebanon; 147 rockets fired at Israeli troops
- StrongIDF confirms elimination of two Hezbollah operatives near Nabatieh
- DevelopingIDF kills two Hezbollah operatives fleeing rocket launch site in southern Lebanon
Source and signal
- Internal intake