The latest operations come after an explosive drone struck an IDF force in the Ali al-Taher ridge area early Saturday morning.
By United with Israel Staff
The IDF eliminated a senior Hezbollah commander involved in planning and carrying out attacks against Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, the military announced Sunday, following a weekend escalation that left three IDF soldiers wounded.
The military said Abu Hassan Alaa, a senior commander in Hezbollah’s Badr Unit, was killed Saturday in an Israeli strike in the Deir al-Zahrani area of southern Lebanon.
According to the IDF, Alaa was involved in advancing numerous attacks against Israeli forces operating in the security zone, including the use of explosive drones targeting troops in southern Lebanon.
In recent years, Alaa commanded several Hezbollah combat sectors involved in operations against IDF forces and Israeli civilians, the military said.
The IDF said Alaa was specifically targeted in response to a Hezbollah attack on Israeli forces operating inside the security zone.
His elimination “constitutes a blow to the unit’s command capabilities,” the military said.
The strike follows the elimination of Ali Samir al-Hajj Hassan, a battalion commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force, who was recently killed in an Israeli strike on a Hezbollah command center in Ansar.
The latest operations come after an explosive drone struck an IDF force in the Ali al-Taher ridge area early Saturday morning, wounding an officer and two soldiers from the Combat Engineering Corps’ elite Yahalom unit.
The incident occurred at approximately 2:30 a.m. and was followed by a wave of Israeli airstrikes across southern Lebanon. Lebanese media reported multiple strikes around the Ali al-Taher ridge and the Nabatieh area throughout Saturday night.
The renewed fighting comes amid continued diplomatic efforts surrounding Hezbollah’s disarmament and the future of Israel’s security zone in southern Lebanon.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson told Al Jazeera over the weekend that Hezbollah bears responsibility for the continued Israeli presence in Lebanon, describing the terrorist organization as the primary obstacle to Lebanon’s economic recovery.
The spokesperson said Washington expects the Lebanese Armed Forces to complete efforts to clear Hezbollah’s presence from designated pilot zones, describing implementation of those areas as the path toward eventually securing peace.
Israel has maintained that its forces will continue operating against Hezbollah as long as the terrorist organization poses a threat to Israeli troops and civilians.
“The IDF will not allow the Hezbollah terrorist organization to harm the citizens of the State of Israel or its forces and will continue operating to remove threats,” the military said.
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