Lebanese media reported Sunday that a drone struck a vehicle in the village of al-Mansouri near the coastal city of Tyre in southern Lebanon.
According to the Saudi-owned Al-Hadath channel, the targets were two Hezbollah commanders, Mohammad Shiyoukh and Radwan Khashab. Local outlets, including Al-Mayadeen, said Shiyoukh also served as the principal of the al-Mansouri school. Lebanon’s Health Ministry confirmed that at least one person was killed in the attack.
The scene of the strike in Lebanon
The strike comes as the Israeli military moves closer to a limited offensive against Hezbollah, which would include repeated Israeli Air Force strikes on weapons-production sites across Lebanon, particularly in the Bekaa Valley and in Beirut. These facilities are often hidden underground or inside residential areas and are used to convert heavy unguided rockets into precision missiles by modifying their warheads.
Israeli officials estimate Hezbollah still holds tens of thousands of such rockets and several thousand missiles, as well as having produced thousands of new drones and explosive UAVs since the end of the war.
Hezbollah’s Radwan forces, which form the backbone of its cross-border invasion capability, have also regrouped. Despite the cease-fire, the group has gradually returned closer to the border. While large forward positions have not been fully restored, Radwan operatives have reassembled in the area between the Litani River and the frontier, including in major towns such as Nabatieh.
The IDF maintains five outposts in southern Lebanon along the 135-kilometer border, from Mount Dov to Rosh Hanikra, in positions only 500 to 1,000 meters from the Israeli fence. Israel had hoped for progress toward an arrangement with the Lebanese government after Beirut’s unprecedented decision six months ago to dismantle Hezbollah’s weapons infrastructure, but officials now say the Lebanese Armed Forces are struggling to carry out the mission. “For every rocket launcher they seize from Hezbollah, another is converted into a missile launcher in the Bekaa,” an Israeli military source said.
The source added that the Lebanese military’s long-running “Operation Southern Shield” involves significant blind spots and quiet cooperation with Hezbollah. “In practice, we must keep striking these weapons-production sites, such as the strategic facility in the Bekaa that we hit last week for the ninth time since the cease-fire began,” the source said.
Earlier Sunday, Israeli forces fired warning shots toward UNIFIL peacekeepers in southern Lebanon after misidentifying them as suspects. The IDF said no deliberate fire was directed at UN soldiers and that the incident is being reviewed through official liaison channels.
In its statement, the IDF said troops “fired warning shots at two suspects in the Hammamis area of southern Lebanon, who withdrew with no casualties. A later check showed the suspects were UN personnel on patrol who were misidentified due to poor weather conditions. The IDF will continue acting to remove any threat to the State of Israel.”