IDF strike in south Lebanon kills commander in Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force

A platoon commander in the Hezbollah terror group’s elite Radwan Force was killed in an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces said.

According to the IDF, the operative, Issa Ahmad Karbala, was involved in moving weapons around in Lebanon and advancing attacks against Israel.

The military said Karbala’s activities “constitute a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”

He was targeted while riding a motorcycle in the town of Ain Qana. Lebanon’s health ministry confirmed that one person was killed in the strike.

The Radwan Force was previously tasked with invading Israel in a future war, and the IDF said the elite unit had advanced the terror group’s “Conquer the Galilee” plan for years, until the 2023-2024 war saw most of Hezbollah’s leadership eliminated.

On Monday, the IDF said it carried out airstrikes in southern Lebanon targeting Hezbollah infrastructure in the Nabatieh area.

أعلنت اسرائيل أنها قتلت في غارة على دراجة نارية في بلدة عين قانا في جنوب لبنان عيسى أحمد كربلا (هادي) وهو قائد فصيل في قوة الرضوان التابعة لحزب الله. pic.twitter.com/OxKum8W6rb

— loquacious – لوكاسيوس (@loquacious_lb) October 22, 2025

“The Hezbollah terror organization continues its attempts to rebuild terrorist infrastructure throughout Lebanon,” the army said, adding that “the presence of terror infrastructure and the activity of the Hezbollah terror organization in the area constitute a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”

צה"ל תקף מטרות טרור של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בלבנון

לפני זמן קצר, צה"ל בהובלת פיקוד הצפון, תקף באמצעות חיל האוויר תשתיות טרור של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב נבטיה שבלבנון.
ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה ממשיך בנסיונות שיקום של תשתיות טרור ברחבי לבנון.

הימצאותם של תשתיות הטרור ופעילות ארגון… pic.twitter.com/JFxsqaicK2

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 20, 2025

Also this week, the IDF said it carried out a ground operation on the Lebanese side of Mount Dov to demolish several Hezbollah posts.

The operation, carried out by reservists and combat engineers of the 810th “Mountains” Regional Brigade, took place on Sunday, the military announced on Tuesday.

The IDF said that the posts were destroyed to prevent them from being used by Hezbollah to entrench itself in the area in the future.

The operations in Lebanon come as the IDF carries out one of its largest exercises in the past two years, simulating fighting along the border with Lebanon and in Israeli communities in the area.

The 91st “Galilee” Division’s drill, which began on Sunday, will conclude on Thursday. The IDF said it was the first “full division-level drill” since the start of the war.

Visiting the drill on Tuesday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir told commanders that the military must return to carrying out training after two years of war.

“Alongside the continuation of operational activity, thwarting threats and maintaining a high level of alertness, you must return to training and improve readiness for war across all sectors,” Zamir said, according to remarks provided by the army.

The drill followed Zamir’s directive to all military commands and branches to “return to training to continue improving the IDF’s preparedness for war across all sectors,” the IDF said.

The military said the drill has involved various defensive and offensive scenarios, “as well as an assessment of the division’s readiness and capability.”

The IDF warned that explosions may be heard, there will be troops acting as an opposing force — including flying paragliders — and there will be an increased movement of drones, aircraft, Navy vessels, and troops in the Galilee.

Immediately after Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that triggered the Gaza war, Hezbollah began launching rockets and drones at Israel in support of its Palestinian ally.

Months of exchanges escalated into all-out war in September 2024 — including a ground offensive in southern Lebanon — during which Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and many other top leaders were killed, before a ceasefire was eventually reached.

Under the November 27, 2024, ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, weapons in south Lebanon were to be held only by the state, and the IDF was permitted to act against imminent threats by the terror group. Israel withdrew from all but five strategic points in southern Lebanon.

Since the ceasefire, the IDF has said it has killed over 300 Hezbollah operatives in strikes, hit hundreds of Hezbollah sites, and conducted over 1,000 raids and other small operations in southern Lebanon.

Weakened by the war and still facing regular Israeli strikes, Hezbollah is under internal and international pressure to hand over its weapons, with the Lebanese army having drawn up a plan to disarm it.