IDF kills 2 Hezbollah members in Lebanon, hours after downing drones along border

Drone shot down over Kiryat Shmona, another intercepted over Lebanon; 40 rockets fired at north; Gallant says Israel is ‘following what is happening, in Beirut, in Tehran’

By Emanuel Fabian 13 August 2024, 11:05 pm Edit

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese village of Chihine near the border with Israel on August 13, 2024. (Kawnat Haju/AFP)
Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese village of Chihine near the border with Israel on August 13, 2024. (Kawnat Haju/AFP)

Two Hezbollah members were killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, hours after the IDF shot down two drones in the north as the region continues to brace for an expected Hezbollah retaliation against Israel.

The IDF confirmed carrying out a drone strike in southern Lebanon’s Baraachit, killing two members of Hezbollah’s so-called Southern Front unit, the terror group’s regional command in southern Lebanon.

Hezbollah also confirmed their deaths, bringing the declared death toll for members of the terror group since October to at least 408.

Earlier Tuesday, the IDF said that its air defenses shot down two drones launched from Lebanon. One was shot down over the Kiryat Shmona area, while the second was intercepted over Lebanon before crossing into Israel.

Sirens had sounded in Kiryat Shmona and nearby communities amid the incident. There were no reports of injuries.

Footage later circulated on social media showing the Iron Dome intercepting one of the drones over the Galilee Panhandle.

The video offered some of the clearest footage showing a drone being intercepted by Israeli air defenses. The IDF earlier released grainy black-and-white footage of the same interception.

Late Tuesday night, a barrage of some 15 rockets was fired from Lebanon at the Malkia area in northern Israel. About an hour later another volley of approximately 25 rockets was fired at the Mount Meron area, triggering sirens in nearby communities.

According to the IDF, the rockets in both volleys struck open areas, causing no injuries.

Meanwhile, the IDF said it carried out drone strikes on two primed Hezbollah rocket launchers, in at-Tiri and Zibqin.

Separately, tanks under the 810th “Mountains” Regional Brigade shelled Hezbollah operatives at an observation post in the Mount Dov area earlier Tuesday, the IDF said.

Additionally, buildings used by Hezbollah in Chihine and Aalma ash-Shab, and an anti-tank guided missile launch post in Ayta ash-Shab, were struck, the military added.

Despite the ongoing cross-border fire, Israel is still girding itself for a serious escalation in response to the killing of top Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut late last month, in response to a rocket attack on Majdal Shams which killed 12 children.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Tuesday that Israel is closely tracking its enemies, both in regards to Hezbollah and an expected attack from Iran after the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (left) speaks with the head of the IDF Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Ori Gordin, at an intelligence base in northern Israel, August 13, 2024. (Ariel Hermoni/Defense Ministry)

“I am aware of the tensions and the great burden placed on the citizens of Israel. We are following what is happening, in Beirut, in Tehran, and in other places,” Gallant said during a visit to an IDF intelligence base in northern Israel. “We are engaged both in removing the threats and preparing all possibilities, in order to be able to attack wherever we decide.”

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 there.

So far, the skirmishes have resulted in 26 civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of 18 IDF soldiers and reservists. There have also been several attacks from Syria, without any injuries.

Hezbollah has named 408 members who have been killed by Israel during the ongoing skirmishes, mostly in Lebanon but some also in Syria. In Lebanon, another 71 operatives from other terror groups, a Lebanese soldier, and dozens of civilians have been killed.

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