Israel says Hezbollah man who disrupted Lebanese army dismantlement efforts killed in strike

A Hezbollah operative who, according to the IDF, was responsible for preventing the Lebanese army from dismantling a weapons cache in southern Lebanon last month, was killed in an Israeli airstrike today, the military says.

Abu Ali Salameh, who the IDF says served as a Hezbollah “liaison officer” in the village of Yanouh, in the Tyre area, was targeted while driving on a road near the coastal Lebanese city.

“As part of his role, the terrorist managed Hezbollah’s activities in the village of Yanouh, to enable Hezbollah to operate within the civilian area and in private properties in the village, and to embed terror infrastructure in the heart of the population through the deliberate and cynical exploitation of residents to advance Hezbollah’s terror objectives,” the military says.

According to the IDF, on December 13, Israel sent a request to the Lebanese army, via the US-led ceasefire oversight mechanism, to take action against a Hezbollah weapons depot in Yanouh.

“Salameh received the report from the Lebanese Armed Forces and passed it on to other Hezbollah elements. Upon the arrival of the Lebanese Armed Forces, Hezbollah terrorists prevented them from dismantling the infrastructure by creating a gathering that enabled Hezbollah to move the weapons out of the property,” the military claims.

At the time, the IDF had published an evacuation warning ahead of a planned strike on the site, before postponing it after the Lebanese army arrived in an attempt to dismantle it.

The IDF says that Salameh coordinated with the Lebanese army to document the site without weapons, “thereby claiming that the site was empty.”

“During the Lebanese Armed Forces’ operation, several suspicious boxes were removed from the compound through the rear door of the property,” the IDF says.

The army says Salameh’s actions constitute a violation of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon.

צה"ל חיסל מחבל שהיה אחראי על שיבוש אכיפת מחסן אמצעי לחימה של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה

מוקדם יותר היום, צה״ל תקף וחיסל את המחבל אבו עלי סלאמה, ששימש כקצין קישור של חיזבאללה בכפר יאנוח שבדרום לבנון.

במסגרת תפקידו, ניהל המחבל את הפעילות של חיזבאללה בכפר יאנוח, במטרה לאפשר לחיזבאללה… pic.twitter.com/GoDZhoy9wU

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) January 21, 2026