Zamir: IDF won’t let Hezbollah ‘entrench itself' as a threat

1 reported killed in first southern Lebanon IDF airstrike in weeks

Military says drone strike targeting a motorcycle hit suspects 'observing' troops; Lebanese PM, in apparent message to Hezbollah, warns against 'dragging' country into new war

By Emanuel Fabian
  • Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
 Today, 7:46 am
This photograph taken from the southern Lebanese village of Zawtar al-Gharbiya shows Israeli soldiers, supported by a tank, conducting an operation in the nearby village of Zawtar al-Sharkiya on October 25, 2026. (Ammar Ammar/AFP)

One person was killed and another wounded in a rare Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon on Wednesday afternoon, health authorities in the country said, as the Israeli military said it had targeted two suspects who were “observing” troops.

The strike in the town of Qabrikha, located outside of the Israel Defense Forces’ south Lebanon buffer zone, targeted a motorcycle, killing one person and wounding another, Lebanon’s health ministry said.

The Israeli military said it had targeted two suspects who were “observing IDF troops,” and that the strike was carried out to “remove a threat” to the forces.

The slain man was identified in Lebanese media reports as Muhammad Nasser Yousef, a paramedic with the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement’s Risala Scouts.

It marked the first Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon in weeks.

Also on Wednesday, during a visit to Israel’s northern border, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said the military “will not allow Hezbollah to establish terror infrastructure” in southern Lebanon.

“Any attempt by the enemy to entrench itself, build up its capabilities, or threaten northern communities will be met immediately and forcefully,” he said, according to remarks provided by the army.

Zamir said the IDF “remains alert to developments in near and distant arenas and is prepared to strike any enemy that attempts to harm us, as we have done in the past.”

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir meets with troops in northern Israel, November 4, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s prime minister warned against plunging the country into a new war if the US-Iran conflict resumes, in an apparent message to Hezbollah, which is backed by Tehran.

“Faced with the risks of renewed war in the region, I renew my warning of the dangers of dragging Lebanon into a new senseless adventure in service of outside interests,” Nawaf Salam said.

“We do not accept the country again becoming a theater for the conflict of others,” Salam added, saying Lebanon had “already paid a heavy price.”

Hezbollah pulled Lebanon into the war with Iran on March 2 in support of its Iranian patrons, prompting massive Israeli airstrikes and a subsequent ground invasion of southern Lebanon before an agreement to end the conflict was reached in June, though sporadic fighting has continued.

The negotiations have been hampered by Hezbollah’s refusal to comply with the deal, which calls for the IDF to withdraw from areas of southern Lebanon it held in parallel with the deployment of the Lebanese army, starting with so-called pilot zones, under the condition that Hezbollah disarms. But the Iran-backed terror group has refused to do so.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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