Two armed terrorists were identified early Friday morning by IDF lookouts several hundred meters from the Israeli border in southern Lebanon, the military said.
According to the IDF, “immediately after the identification and under continuous monitoring by the forces, the armed suspects were struck and eliminated in an aerial strike.”
IDF: armed terrorists killed in southern Lebanon, hundreds of meters from Israeli border
(Video: IDF)
The military said troops operating in the area launched searches after the incident, but found no evidence of any additional suspicious presence nearby.
“The IDF maintains continuous contact with the communities and will update on any development,” the military said, stressing that “the incident is over.”
Although a ceasefire has been declared between Israel and Hezbollah, against the backdrop of U.S.-Iran negotiations and direct talks with the Lebanese government, fighting between the IDF and terrorist organizations in southern Lebanon has continued.
On Wednesday, Col. Meir Biderman, commander of the 401st Armored Brigade, was seriously wounded when an explosive drone struck in the western sector of southern Lebanon.
A reserve lieutenant colonel was moderately wounded in the same incident, and a reserve soldier was lightly wounded. The IDF later reported seven additional troops wounded in an explosive drone blast, including a combat documentation soldier from the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit who was seriously wounded. An officer and two soldiers were moderately wounded, while another officer and two other soldiers were lightly wounded.
Amid the continued fighting on the ground and daily launches toward northern border communities, officials in the north have expressed anger over the continued use of the term ceasefire.
Upper Galilee Regional Council head Assaf Langleben said after the latest incidents that the gap between government declarations and the reality on the ground requires a military response.
“We live this reality every day, every night,” he said. “There is no ceasefire in the north. Unfortunately, the threat from Lebanon still hovers over the heads of northern residents. The sirens are an alarm bell for the government that declared a ceasefire. The government must do everything so this war ends with one clear victory: eliminating the threat and restoring security to northern communities.”