Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed the Israel Defense Forces to strike Hezbollah targets “with force” Saturday — after repeated attacks by the terrorist group over the weekend sent the cease-fire with Lebanon to the brink of collapse.
The escalations in fighting threatened to throw an already fragile truce into jeopardy as Washington presses for additional talks between Israeli and Lebanese officials.
Rocket sirens blared in Northern Israeli towns Saturday afternoon after Hezbollah launched a drone and two rockets in what the IDF called a “blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement.”
The IDF claimed they intercepted the drone and one rocket, while another fell into an open area. No casualties resulted from the strikes.
A “suspicious aerial target,” believed to be a Hezbollah drone, was intercepted in Southern Lebanon in an area where IDF forces were operating, the IDF added.
Hezbollah launched several drones rigged with explosives at Israeli troops in Southern Lebanon, though no one was hurt, according to the IDF.
Meanwhile, Israeli forces eliminated several Hezbollah terrorists and targets throughout Lebanon over the weekend.
Israeli forces struck and killed three Hezbollah fighters riding an armed pickup truck inside their security zone in Southern Lebanon, the IDF said Saturday.
They also killed a terrorist traveling via motorcycle and two additional terrorists near the Litani River inside the security zone.
More than 15 Hezbollah terrorists have been killed this weekend, according the IDF claimed.
Additionally, Israeli forces have been striking Lebanese buildings used by Hezbollah forces, including a weapons depot containing a “cache of anti-tank missiles.” The Israeli airforce also targeted Hezbollah rocket launchers in Southern Lebanon.
IDF forces also claimed to have detonated explosives planted inside buildings and vehicles used by Hezbollah terrorists.
President Trump announced on Thursday that the ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah would be extended for three weeks amid continued peace talks between Israeli and Lebanese officials.
The talks mark the first time leaders from each country have sat down directly since 1993, and Trump pledged that Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will be traveling to the White House in the “next couple of weeks.” Israel and Lebanon have been in a formal state of war since the founding of the Jewish state in 1948.
“We’re going to be working with Lebanon to get things straightened out in that country,” Trump told reporters Friday.
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