IDF forces killed a Hezbollah terrorist in southern Lebanon on Tuesday after an armed drone chased him down as he tried to flee on a motorcycle, the military said Wednesday.
According to the IDF, the terrorist was operating near Israeli troops in a manner that posed an immediate threat. Forces from the 226th Brigade, operating under the 146th Division, identified him using an armed drone.
IDF drone chases Hezbollah terrorist on motorcycle in southern Lebanon
(Video: IDF)
“In a rapid closing of the circle, the forces struck and eliminated the terrorist using the drone as he tried to flee on a motorcycle,” the IDF said.
The military also said it struck about 20 Hezbollah command centers and buildings overnight in several areas of southern Lebanon. According to the IDF, the sites were used by Hezbollah to advance terror plots against Israeli forces and civilians.
“The IDF will continue to operate to remove threats to the citizens of the State of Israel and IDF forces,” the military said.
Earlier Wednesday, Lebanese media reported a wave of Israeli airstrikes, artillery fire and drone attacks in southern Lebanon. According to the reports, the IDF also struck two motorcycles, in the villages of al-Mansouri and Khirbet Selm.
The Lebanese army said one of its soldiers and his brother were killed in an Israeli airstrike in Khirbet Selm while riding a motorcycle. It claimed the two were traveling from the soldier’s workplace to his home in the village of al-Sawana.
The incident comes as Israeli forces in southern Lebanon face a growing tactical challenge from explosive drones, with Hezbollah significantly upgrading its capabilities during the current campaign. The military says it has not yet developed a full solution to the threat.
With no comprehensive answer in place, troops on the ground have begun testing improvised defenses. Reservists from the 3rd Alexandroni Brigade, who have spent the past two and a half years working with short-range drone systems and countermeasures, recently stretched a net over an armored Humvee in a field experiment. They then launched a drone, which became trapped in the net, demonstrating a possible low-tech interception method.
IDF forces test improvised defenses against Hezbollah drones
Soldiers say the test reflects a rapidly changing battlefield in southern Lebanon, where Hezbollah is increasingly using inexpensive drones as part of its arsenal. The terror group has favored drones over some longer-range missiles or rocket-propelled grenades because they are cheaper, adaptable and difficult to counter.
According to Israeli assessments, Hezbollah operatives are modifying drones in workshops in southern Lebanon, adding components such as skids, cameras and explosives. Officials say one key development is the use of fiber-optic control lines, a tactic reportedly adapted from the war in Ukraine.
The drones are physically tethered by fiber-optic cables, some stretching up to 10 kilometers, allowing operators to maintain control without relying on wireless signals that can be detected or jammed by Israeli electronic warfare systems.
Hezbollah has launched explosive drones from long distances and from areas where Israeli forces are not present. While their payloads are relatively small, the drones have become a persistent battlefield threat. The IDF has previously struck workshops used to assemble explosives and attach them to the aircraft.
Electronic warfare units deployed in the area are working to counter the threat, though Hezbollah has also targeted those systems with drone attacks.
The IDF said that in several incidents over the past day, Hezbollah launched explosive drones that detonated near forces operating in southern Lebanon, lightly wounding one soldier.
Since the beginning of the week, two people have been killed in drone attacks. On Sunday, Sgt. Idan Fox, a soldier in the 77th Battalion of the 7th “Storm of the Golan” Brigade, was killed. On Monday, Amer Hujeirat of Shfaram, who worked for a contracting company carrying out engineering work for the Defense Ministry, was also killed. His son was lightly wounded by debris in the same incident.