IDF says 3 Hezbollah operatives killed in separate strikes in south Lebanon
Military names target of strike in Tyre as Hezbollah artillery commander who the terror group identifies as a former TV presenter and imam
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Israeli airstrikes on Monday killed three Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon, according to the Israel Defense Forces, including a former presenter on a television station affiliated with the terror organization.
A separate strike on Tuesday morning targeted another member of the terror group, the military said, without immediately providing further details.
Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed fatalities in Monday’s strikes, with one person killed in the coastal city of Tyre and two later in Kfar Rumman near Nabatieh.
The IDF identified the target of the strike in Tyre as Ali Nour a-Din, who it said headed an artillery team based out of a southern Lebanese village.
According to the IDF, Nour a-Din advanced numerous attacks on Israel during the 2023-2024 war, and recently worked to restore Hezbollah’s rocket capabilities in southern Lebanon.
“The terrorist’s activities constituted a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the military added.
Hezbollah’s al-Manar identified as Nour a-Din having “previously worked at al-Manar channel as a presenter of religious programs, while Hezbollah’s media office said in a statement that he was also the imam of al-Hawsh, in the suburbs of Tyre. The Iran-backed terrorist group denounced the killing as a “treacherous assassination.”
Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos also condemned the strike, saying Israeli attacks “do not spare press and media personnel.”
مشاهدٌ من استهداف مسيرة اسرائيلية لسيارة قرب عبد طحان في مدينة صور pic.twitter.com/7oQ620GxGu
— Lebanon Debate (@lebanondebate) January 26, 2026
The second strike later on Monday near Nabatieh killed two Hezbollah operatives attempting to restore a subterranean facility belonging to the terror group, the military said.
The IDF said the efforts by the operatives to restore the underground site were a violation of the ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon and posed a threat to Israel.
צה״ל חיסל מחבלים מארגון הטרור חיזבאללה שפעלו לשיקום אתר תת-קרקעי בדרום לבנון
צה״ל תקף וחיסל אתמול, מחבלים מארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בעת שפעלו באתר תת-קרקעי של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב נבטיה שבדרום לבנון.
פעילות מחבלי ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה לשיקום האתר מהווה הפרה של ההבנות בין ישראל… pic.twitter.com/5lgCTAbGav
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) January 27, 2026
On Tuesday, the IDF said it struck another Hezbollah operative in the town of Deir Qanoun. It did not immediately provide further details on the target.
Israel and Lebanon agreed to a US-brokered ceasefire in November 2024, ending more than a year of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah that had culminated in Israeli strikes and a ground offensive that severely weakened the terror group. Since then, the sides have traded accusations over violations, with Israel insisting that Hezbollah has worked to rearm itself.
Since the ceasefire, the IDF has killed around 400 operatives and struck hundreds of additional Hezbollah-linked targets. The IDF has repeatedly asserted that the activity at the targeted sites constitutes a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.
The conflict began on October 8, 2023, when Hezbollah started firing rockets and drones at northern Israel, one day after its fellow Iran-backed terror group Hamas launched a shock assault on southern Israel, sparking the war in Gaza.
Agencies and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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