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IDF says it struck terror operatives in south Lebanon, after framework deal announced
The Israeli military said it carried out an airstrike on Saturday targeting terror operatives in the Nabatieh area of southern Lebanon, the first such attack since Washington announced a framework agreement between Israel and Lebanon.
On Friday, Israel, Lebanon and the United States signed a trilateral agreement aimed at paving the way for a broader peace deal between the two Middle East nations.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said that Saturday’s airstrike targeted “suspected terrorists who posted a threat to IDF soldiers” in the Nabatieh area.
“The results of the strike are still being assessed.”
Lebanon was drawn into the broader Middle East war on March 2 when Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah fired rockets at Israel in support of its Iranian sponsors, as the Islamic Republic came under US-Israeli strikes.
Israel responded with heavy airstrikes and a ground invasion in southern Lebanon, where its troops hold swaths of territory and have been carrying out extensive demolitions of homes and other buildings, saying the infrastructure was being used by Hezbollah as it built its forces along the Israeli border.
Friday’s US-brokered agreement followed five rounds of negotiations between Israeli and Lebanese officials aimed at ending the fighting. The deal “begins to put in place a framework for lasting peace and security,” US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the signing ceremony.
“It’s the beginning of the beginning. There’s a lot of work ahead.”
According to the text of the agreement, Israel and Lebanon “declare their intent to conclusively end the conflict, address its underlying causes, and to therewith formally conclude any state of war between them.”
Thursday night saw four Israeli soldiers, including two officers, injured in a clash with a Hezbollah gunman in southern Lebanon.
According to a probe by the Israel Defense Forces of the Thursday incident, at around 10 p.m. in the Beit Yahoun area, a Hezbollah operative who was hiding in a building threw a grenade at Israeli troops. A combat officer was moderately hurt in the incident, and another officer and two soldiers were lightly hurt, the IDF said. They were taken to the hospital for treatment, and their families were notified.
Within a few minutes, the forces returned fire, killing the operative, the probe found.
The IDF also struck several Hezbollah sites in the area with artillery and airstrikes following the attack.
Meanwhile, on Friday morning, the Israeli Air Force struck and killed seven Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon, after they were identified transporting weapons near Israel’s buffer zone, the military said. The IDF said the operatives were spotted by troops of the Egoz Commando Unit near the village of Manzleh, moving weapons into a structure “used as a combat and observation post” and to prepare to carry out attacks on troops.
צפו בתיעוד: צה”ל חיסל להסרת איום שבעה מחבלי חיזבאללה שהעבירו אמצעי לחימה בסמוך לכוחות צה”ל בדרום לבנון
חיל האוויר בהכוונת כוחות יחידת אגוז, תקף וחיסל מוקדם יותר היום שבעה מחבלים מארגון הטרור חיזבאללה שהעבירו אמצעי לחימה בסמוך למרחב הביטחוני בו פועלים כוחות צה”ל בדרום לבנון.… pic.twitter.com/a0lzEQGbhh
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 26, 2026
“The terrorists’ actions at the post alongside the presence of the weapons within it constituted a threat to the soldiers,” the military said.
On Thursday, the IDF said it killed at least six Hezbollah operatives who posed a threat to troops operating in southern Lebanon.
The military said it continues to operate at the Ali Taher ridge, beneath which Hezbollah has a massive underground complex, where some 30 operatives are holed up.
The IDF said it will “not allow Hezbollah terrorists to exit the underground tunnel network or operate in the area of the ridge.”
On Friday, Lebanese media reported that flyers had been dropped by an IDF drone over the southern Lebanon town of Mansouri, close to Tyre, reading: “Danger Zone! Stay Away! Any approach toward Israeli army forces puts you in danger.”
The fighting in Lebanon has been complicated by the memorandum of understanding signed last week by the US and Iran, which halted their war for 60 days while negotiations for a final ceasefire are held. The MOU included ending the fighting in Lebanon, where Israel has established a security zone aimed at keeping Hezbollah from the border.
In addition, Israel and Hezbollah reached their own mediated agreement — which reduced the fighting — though clashes have continued on a daily basis. Israeli leaders have said they are not bound by the MOU and have vowed that forces will remain in southern Lebanon until the Hezbollah threat is removed. However, under pressure from the US, Israel has told the IDF to limit its operations, though the military still strikes at threats to troops.
Emanuel Fabian contributed to this report.
