The IDF said Saturday it planned to strike Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in the southern Lebanese village of Yanouh but later suspended the attack after additional intervention by Lebanese forces and U.N. peacekeepers.
The warning came shortly after a joint force of the Lebanese army and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, searched a house in the village at the request of the body overseeing enforcement of the ceasefire with Israel.
Residents of Yanouh try to block another search of an empty house suspected of containing weapons
Lebanese reports said the force searched an empty house and did not find weapons. As the troops prepared to leave, an IDF drone was seen in the area. UNIFIL was then asked to conduct a second search, but the property owner initially refused entry and attempted to block the force with the help of other residents.
Following the IDF warning, the residents cleared the area. Additional Lebanese army forces were later deployed around the house, and the IDF decided to halt the planned strike.
IDF Arabic-language spokesman Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee said an evacuation warning had been issued earlier Saturday ahead of a planned strike in the Yanouh area. After the warning, he said, the Lebanese army requested through the ceasefire enforcement mechanism to reenter the site and address the suspected violation.
“The IDF decided to allow this, and accordingly the strike was suspended,” Adraee said. He added that the military continues to monitor the site and remains in contact with the enforcement mechanism.
“The IDF will not allow the Hezbollah terrorist organization to reestablish itself or rebuild its capabilities,” he said.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem addressed the developments later Saturday, declaring that the group would not disarm. He said the United States should know Hezbollah would defend itself “even if the whole world unites against Lebanon.”
Qassem urged the Lebanese state to reconsider its position, saying the ceasefire agreement should be implemented before any discussion of a national defense strategy. He accused Israel of seeking Lebanon’s “submission,” warning that such a course would lead to the country’s collapse.
About a month ago, the IDF carried out a wave of airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in four villages in southern Lebanon after issuing evacuation warnings. Residents also received warnings by phone. The IDF said the strikes destroyed weapons storage facilities belonging to Hezbollah’s rocket unit.
“The warehouses that were struck were located in the heart of civilian population centers,” the IDF said at the time, accusing Hezbollah of using civilians as human shields.
First published: 16:08, 12.13.25