The Israel Defense Forces said Friday morning that it has struck more than 3,500 targets and killed about 1,000 Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon since the Iranian-backed group entered the war in support of Tehran a month ago.
“The IDF is operating with determination in Southern Lebanon through targeted ground operations in several areas, alongside strikes from the air, sea and land against all centers of gravity of the Hezbollah terrorist organization,” the military said.
The IDF’s 91st, 146th, 36th and 162nd Divisions are leading a focused ground operation, carrying out the dismantling of terror infrastructure and the elimination of operatives, while deepening damage to Hezbollah’s capabilities and pushing it out of the area, the statement added.
At the same time, airstrikes have targeted weapons storage facilities, launch positions and command-and-control headquarters.
The military also said it struck key assets and financial storage sites belonging to the Al-Qard al-Hasan Association, which it described as a parallel banking system in Lebanon that exploits civilian funds and receives money from Iran to finance Hezbollah.
It added that five central bridges used to move weapons and personnel from north to south Lebanon were hit, causing significant damage to the terror group’s finances.
Also Friday, the IDF said Israeli fighter jets killed about 15 Hezbollah terrorists in Southern Lebanon who were preparing to fire an anti-tank missile toward Israeli territory.
Forces on the ground later located weapons in the area, including grenades.
In a similar incident earlier this week, armed Hezbollah operatives approached IDF soldiers from the 91st Division and posed a threat, the military said.
In a rapid response, the Israeli Air Force struck and killed the terrorists. Ground forces later recovered rifles, RPGs, ammunition magazines and additional weapons.
Between Wednesday and Thursday, the IDF killed more than 40 Hezbollah terrorists and struck dozens of the Iranian proxy’s infrastructure sites.
The IAF hit headquarters, weapons storage facilities, launch sites and anti-tank missile positions, while the Israeli Navy conducted a precise strike targeting a Hezbollah arms storage facility in Southern Lebanon.
On Thursday, IDF troops from the Nahal Reconnaissance Battalion killed a Hezbollah terrorist in a close-range encounter, the army said.
The confrontation took place during a targeted ground operation in which the unit located and seized weapons, military vests, grenades and additional combat equipment at an undisclosed location in Southern Lebanon.
Two soldiers were lightly wounded and evacuated to the hospital.
The Israel Defense Forces overnight Wednesday struck two money exchange offices in the Beirut area used to finance Hezbollah.
The sites were identified as “Boa Chance,” owned by Hussein Ibrahim, and “Trade Point International,” owned by Mohamad Noureddine.
Hezbollah’s systematic use of money exchange offices for terror financing and money laundering—uncovered by the IDF a year ago—is one of the group’s primary methods for channeling and concealing Iranian funds, the IDF said.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Navy on Tuesday conducted a strike in Beirut that killed Hajj Yusuf Ismail Hashem, the commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front.
The unit is responsible for carrying out terrorist activities against Israeli civilians and conducting combat operations against IDF soldiers in Southern Lebanon.
As commander of the unit, Hashem led the rehabilitation of Hezbollah and directed rocket launches and other “hostile aerial attacks” toward Israeli territory.
Hashem, a senior commander with more than 40 years of experience in the Iranian terror proxy, assumed command of Hezbollah’s Southern Front following the elimination of Ali Karaki alongside Hassan Nasrallah in September 2024.
On Tuesday, the IDF announced that four soldiers had been killed battling Hezbollah terrorists in Southern Lebanon.
The slain troops were named as Capt. Noam Madmoni, 22, from Sderot; Staff-Sgt. Ben Cohen, 21, from Lehavim; Staff-Sgt. Maxsim Entis, 21, from Bat Yam; and Staff-Sgt. Gilad Harel, 21, from Modi’in-Maccabim-Re’ut. All four served in Reconnaissance Battalion 934, the Nahal Brigade’s special forces unit.
The total death toll among Israeli troops since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border massacre now stands at 935.
Ten soldiers have been killed since the expansion of ground operations in Southern Lebanon in early March
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