At least 7 Hezbollah operatives killed in IDF strikes as terror group bombards north
No injuries after more than 100 projectiles launched from Lebanon throughout day; military says among those it targeted were two members of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile unit
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
At least seven Hezbollah members were killed Friday in separate Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon, as the Iran-backed terrorist organization launched over 100 projectiles at the north throughout the day.
The strikes included the targeting of a Hezbollah cell preparing to shoot rockets from the village of Tayr Harfa. The other Hezbollah members were killed in separate attacks in Ayta al-Jabal, Mays al-Jabal, Aitaroun and Maarakeh.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, the airstrike in Ayta al-Jabal targeted Muhammad Najam, a prominent member of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile unit in southern Lebanon. Lebanese media reported that alongside Najam, his nephew Zulfiqar Radwan was also killed in the strike on Ayta al-Jabal.
The military also identified Saeed Mahmoud Diab, who was killed in Maarakeh by an IDF drone, as a member of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile unit.
The IDF said the operative in Mays al-Jabal had launched rockets at the Yiftah area earlier in the day and was killed upon being spotted at a building used by Hezbollah, while the operative in Aitaroun was struck shooting projectiles toward Malkia.
Hezbollah later released statements announcing seven members were killed “on the road to Jerusalem,” its term for operatives slain in Israeli strikes, naming Najam among them.
Their deaths brought Hezbollah’s declared toll to at least 427 since it began attacking northern Israel a day after the October 7 terror onslaught from Gaza by its Palestinian ally Hamas.
The Israeli strikes followed several Hezbollah attacks in the morning, including the firing of missiles at the Mount Meron base.
Hezbollah has attacked Mount Meron, located some eight kilometers (5 miles) from the Lebanon border, several times amid the ongoing war, launching large barrages of rockets toward the site, as well as guided missiles at the sensitive air traffic control base that sits atop it.
The IDF reported no injuries in the latest attack, during which three projectiles were fired at the base, one of which was intercepted.
Hezbollah also launched several rocket volleys at northern Israel on Friday, including a fusillade of some 40 projectiles fired at the Kiryat Shmona area and a salvo of around 20 rockets targeting Safed and its surroundings.
No injuries were reported in any of the attacks.
The IDF said some of the rockets fired toward Safed and Kiryat Shmona were shot down by air defenses, while the rest struck open areas.
However, there were several impacts in Kiryat Shmona following another Hezbollah rocket barrage Friday night, with one home set ablaze after being struck by a projectile.
Some of the rockets also sparked forest fires near Safed, which were extinguished hours later. The IDF later said it destroyed a Hezbollah rocket launcher in at-Tiri that was used in the barrage on Safed.
Since October 8, Hezbollah-led forces have attacked Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis, with the group saying it is doing so to support Gaza amid the war against the Hamas terror group there.
So far, the skirmishes have resulted in 26 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 19 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.
In addition to the 427 members whose deaths Hezbollah has announced during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria, another 73 operatives from other terror groups have been killed in Lebanon by Israeli strikes. A Lebanese soldier and dozens of civilians have also been killed.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.