IDF strike kills Hezbollah operative in Lebanon, day after rocket fire at Metula

A member of Hezbollah was killed in an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon on Sunday, the military said, a day after six rockets were fired from Lebanon at northern Israel and drew dozens of Israeli airstrikes against the terror group in return.

Lebanon’s health ministry said one person was killed in the strike on a car in southern Lebanon’s Ayta ash-Shab. The Israel Defense Forces in a brief statement confirmed it had killed a Hezbollah operative in the strike, but offered no further details.

A photo published by Lebanese media of a charred car purported to show the aftermath of the strike.

Lebanese state media also reported separate Israeli strikes on Sunday on Naqoura, Shihin and Labbouneh in the south, near the Israeli border.

Saturday saw the most intense escalation since a November ceasefire halted the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, after six rockets were fired from Lebanon at the northern Israeli community of Metula.

The Lebanese health ministry said seven people were killed on Saturday, including in an attack on Tyre, which a security source told AFP targeted a Hezbollah official.

صورة للسيارة المستهدفة في عيتا الشعب pic.twitter.com/pZNrsTnZfj

— MTV Lebanon News (@MTVLebanonNews) March 23, 2025

Hezbollah denied any involvement in the Saturday rocket attack on Metula, and called Israel’s accusations “pretexts for its continued attacks on Lebanon.”

The November ceasefire brought relative calm after a year of hostilities, including two months of open war, between Israel and Hezbollah.

The terror group had started firing rockets and drones at Israeli communities and military posts near-daily on October 8, 2023, in support of fellow terror group Hamas, which had invaded Israel from the Gaza Strip a day earlier.

Israel has continued to strike Lebanon since the ceasefire went into effect, targeting Hezbollah military sites that violated the agreement.

Under the ceasefire, Hezbollah was obligated to pull its forces north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border, and dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south, while the Lebanese army deploys to control the area.

Israel, in parallel, was obligated to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon, though it retains the right to respond to immediate threats.

Following an initial postponement, with US and Lebanese approval, of the deadline to withdraw, Israel pulled all its troops out of Lebanon in February with the exception of five strategic posts along the border.