Hezbollah rocket commander killed in south Lebanon drone strike, IDF says
Israel says Muhammad Adnan Mansour was responsible for ‘numerous’ attacks on Upper Galilee; Lebanese president says terror group must be part of disarmament talks
An Israeli strike in southern Lebanon killed a Hezbollah commander responsible for several rocket attacks on northern Israel, the military said Monday.
The strike was the latest Israel Defense Forces raid on figures alleged by Jerusalem to be operatives or commanders in the Iran-backed terror group, as both Israel and Hezbollah accuse each other of violating a fragile truce in place since last year.
Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed that one person was killed in an Israeli strike on the town of Taybeh, which sits some 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) from the border.
The IDF said it targeted Muhammad Adnan Mansour in a drone strike, publishing footage from the air of a large explosion at the entrance to what appeared to be a two-story industrial building.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency said the strike hit “in front of a motorcycle repair shop” in the town, in the Marjayoun district.
According to Israel, Mansour headed Hezbollah’s rocket unit in the Taybeh area.
מוקדם יותר היום, צה״ל תקף וחיסל באמצעות כלי טיס את המחבל מחמד עדנאן מנצור, מפקד הארטילריה של מרחב א-טייבה בארגון הטרור חיזבאללה.
במהלך המלחמה מחמד הוביל והוציא לפועל מתווי ירי רבים למרחב הגליל העליון.
צה״ל ימשיך לפעול על מנת להסיר כל איום על אזרחי מדינת ישראל pic.twitter.com/Mf7DvuvlA9
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) April 7, 2025
“During the war, Muhammad directed and carried out numerous projectile attacks toward the Upper Galilee area,” the IDF said.
Starting on October 8, 2023, Hezbollah fired rockets, missiles and drones at northern Israel and other parts of the country on a near-daily basis in support of fellow terror group Hamas, which plunged Gaza into war a day earlier with its invasion of southern Israel and unprecedented massacre that left some 1,200 dead, with another 251 abducted into the Strip.
Israel launched an intense military campaign to end the Hezbollah rocket fire in early October 2024, sending ground troops into southern Lebanon and launching airstrikes that killed much of the terror group’s leadership and destroyed much of its vaunted arsenal, significantly weakening the Iranian proxy.
A ceasefire went into effect on November 27, but Israel has vowed to continue to take action against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, carrying out regular raids against the terror group. Israeli troops continue to hold five positions inside Lebanon that it has deemed a strategic necessity, with US backing.
On Sunday, hundreds of Hezbollah supporters gathered in Taybeh for a mass funeral for over a dozen of the group’s fighters killed in the war with Israel.
Also Sunday, the IDF said it carried out an airstrike in southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah operatives who were trying to rebuild “terror infrastructure.”
Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed that two people operating a bulldozer were killed in the strike on the town of Zibqin in the country’s south.
“We are continuing the campaign to strengthen the defenses, while showing initiative and offensive action,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said at an assessment Sunday on the Lebanon border.
NNA also reported Israeli strikes on prefabricated homes in southern Lebanon’s Naqoura area on Sunday.
Over the weekend, visiting US Deputy Special Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus discussed the situation in southern Lebanon and economic reforms with senior Lebanese officials.
A Lebanese official said Sunday that Ortagus discussed disarming Hezbollah, without setting a deadline during her meetings in Beirut a day earlier.
In an interview with Lebanese television channel LBCI broadcast on Sunday, Ortagus said Washington continued to press Lebanon’s government “to fully fulfill the cessation of hostilities, and that includes disarming Hezbollah and all militias,” adding it should happen “as soon as possible.”
The truce deal agreed to in late November is based on a UN Security Council resolution that says Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers should be the only forces in southern Lebanon, and calls for the disarmament of all non-state groups, chiefly Hezbollah, which has used the area as a base to launch attacks against Israel under Iran’s sponsorship.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said on Monday that the issue needed to be resolved “through communication and dialogue because in the end, Hezbollah is a Lebanese component.”
He urged Washington to pressure Israel to withdraw from the five border points, saying the ongoing troop presence “complicates the situation.”
The Times of Israel Community.