An Israeli infantry unit on patrol at an undisclosed location in southern Lebanon on Sunday. Israel Defense Forces claimed it “eliminated” Hezbollah cells and infrastructure in southern Lebanon amid tactical gains in both its northern theater and in the south in Gaza. Photo courtesy Israel Defense Forces/X
The Israeli military said Monday it took out at least one cell of Hezbollah fighters in southern Lebanon amid tactical advances in both its northern theater and in the south in Gaza.
As part of operations targeting “terrorist” infrastructure and confiscating weapons, territorial units of the Israel Defense Forces 91st Division identified a Hezbollah military structure in the early hours “that posed a threat to our forces,” and called in airstrikes to destroy the facility, the IDF wrote in a post on X. Advertisement
“In a quick closing of the circle and in cooperation with the Air Force, the cell was eliminated,” it said in the post which was accompanied by night vision footage of a structure being targeted with a guided bomb and then obliterated.
Separately, IDF said forces of its 146th reserves division had located and destroyed infrastructure and accommodation facilities “where terrorists of the Hezbollah terrorist organization have fortified themselves in southern Lebanon for the purpose of harming our forces.” Advertisement
Air Force fighter jets also “eliminated dozens of terrorists” in strikes on dozens of targets, including a launcher the IDF said was being used to fire rockets into northern Israel.
In Gaza, meanwhile, the IDF’s Southern Command claimed to have scored at least three tactical victories over Hamas in the past day across the strip.
Soldiers of the 252nd “Sinai” division killed “terrorists” and took out a military structure in targeted raids in central Gaza while troops in Rafah in the south near the Egyptian border called in airstrikes after spotting militants in a building that had been booby-trapped, killing the occupants.
An operation by armored divisions focused on the Jabalia district in the north continued “eliminating dozens of terrorists” from the ground and from the air, with the help of the Air Force.
They also conducted reconnaissance, locating and destroying shafts below ground and uncovering large numbers of weapons.
The military stressed troops had continued to do the best they could to move civilians out of harm’s way.
“The forces continue their efforts to evacuate the citizens to safe areas, despite Hamas’ efforts to prevent the citizens from doing so,” said the IDF.
As events on the battlefield continued to unfold, Israeli intelligence chief David Barnea arrived in the Qatari capital, Doha, joining CIA Director Bill Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to try to get some movement on an agreement to free the 100 or so hostages still being held in Gaza. Advertisement
The trio will hold talks on “various possibilities to restart negotiations for the release of hostages from Hamas captivity, based on recent developments,” The Times of Israel quoted Al Thani’s office as saying.
The “recent developments” refer to the killing by the IDF of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar whose hardline stance was thought a key factor in the lack of progress. Hostages have been periodically rescued in operations by Israeli special forces but none have been handed back for the past 11 months.
Hamas is not party to the discussions but may be involved down the line — at arm’s length — with Qatari mediators acting as go-betweens between the Israelis and Americans and Hamas as the two principals cannot talk to Hamas directly as they consider it a terror organization and have banned it.
Israel is said to be looking at a pilot mini-deal — as a way of figuring out where things stand within the post-Sinwar Hamas — which could serve as the foundation for a comprehensive deal.
Another possibility is a proposal from Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi for a two-day cease-fire in Gaza at the end of which four Israeli hostages would be swapped for an unspecified number of Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Advertisement
Barnea has reportedly been instructed to try to push for better terms while Hamas will lay out a comprehensive deal to end the conflict immediately by the withdrawal from Gaza of all Israeli forces and the release of all hostages in exchange for Palestinians in Israeli prisons.
