Israel conducted a series of air strikes and military operations against Hezbollah inside Lebanon over the course of last week. Between March 13 and 17, Israeli aerial, artillery, and ground operations targeted Janta, Borj El Mlouk, Adaisseh, Yater, Meiss El Jabal, Ramyeh, Aainata, Kfar Kela, Yaroun, Yohmor, Libbaya, Deir Mimas, Beaufort Castle, the wadi of Zellaya, and the hills of Jabbour.
March 13
On Thursday, reports emerged at approximately 8:18 pm local time that Israeli aircraft conducted “a series of airstrikes […] targeting the outskirts of Qousaya and Mahallet al-Shaara-Janta” in the Anti-Lebanon mountain range bordering Syria, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA Lebanon).
A subsequent Israel Defense Forces (IDF) statement clarified that the strike had targeted “infrastructure in a Hezbollah weapons development and storage site in the area of the Beqaa in Lebanon,” referring imprecisely to the location of the strike.
Lebanese media did not report any casualties from the strike. Hezbollah-affiliated social media outlets, however, previously announced the deaths of two operatives “on the road to Jerusalem,” the group’s customary euphemism for dying in fighting with Israel.
Earlier on Thursday morning at approximately 11:30 am, Hezbollah announced the death of Mohammad Riyadh al Redha, nom de guerreJawad, a member from the town of Yaroun in south Lebanon.
At 6:35 pm, Hezbollah-affiliated social media accounts announced the death of Imad Hassan Shehoud, nom de guerre Karbala, a member from the village of Jowaya in south Lebanon. However, given the timing of the announcements, Redha and Shehoud could not have died in Thursday night’s IDF strike on Janta and must have been killed in a prior Israeli action.
March 15
Israel continued to conduct operations in Lebanon that week. On Saturday at 2:45 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli strike targeting a vehicle in Borj el Mlouk in south Lebanon killed one unidentified individual. At 4:01 pm, Hezbollah-affiliated social media announced the death of Abbas Youssef Fares, nom de guerre Youssef, a member from the village of Shehour in south Lebanon. At 7:30 pm, Hezbollah media announced the death of Mohammad Ali Chit, nom de guerreJawad, a member from Kfarkela in south Lebanon.
At 10:44 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli ground troops had entered the village of Adaisseh, approximately 400 meters from the Blue Line—the May 25, 2000, withdrawal line separating Israel and Lebanon—and across from Misgav Am. The report indicated that Israeli troops had reached the plaza of the local mosque half an hour prior, without elaborating on the purpose of their incursion.
March 16
On Sunday, at approximately 2:15 am local time, NNA Lebanon reported an Israeli drone had targeted a BMW X5 SUV in the village of Yater in south Lebanon, killing the driver and wounding his companion. At 9:52 am, NNA Lebanon reported that another Israeli airstrike on Meiss El Jabal killed one individual.
At approximately 1:05 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli troops fired upon and wounded an unidentified Lebanese national in Ramyeh, approximately 600 meters from the Blue Line and opposite the Israeli towns of Zarit and Shtula.
At approximately 4:00 pm, Hezbollah-affiliated social media announced the death of Mohammad Imad Srour, nom de guerreKhomeini, a member from Ayta Ash Shaab in south Lebanon.
At approximately 7:23 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli jets targeted the outskirts of the town of Aainata in the Bint Jbeil District of south Lebanon. The strike, the Lebanese Health Ministry announced approximately an hour later, killed two unidentified individuals.
At approximately 9:20 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that an Israeli Apache helicopter had targeted a built-up home on the Fatima Gate in the town of Kfar Kela with two missiles, while a drone dropped stun grenades in the town. Another Apache helicopter also targeted a gas station in Kfar Kela that had been reconstructed after the war. Then, at approximately 9:25 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that Israeli artillery targeted a built-up house in the town of Yaroun.
At 10:56 pm, the IDF released a statement saying that “in the past hours,” it had “struck a Radwan Force Headquarters and buildings being used by Hezbollah in south Lebanon.” The statement stressed that the “existence of this terrorist infrastructure constitutes a serious violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” referring to the November 27, 2024, ceasefire deal’s requirement that Lebanon disarm Hezbollah and dismantle its infrastructure south of the Litani River.
March 17
At approximately 4:36 pm, an Israeli drone targeted and directly struck a motorbike carrying two individuals on the Hay al Baydar road in Yohmor al Shqif in south Lebanon. A van passing by was hit by shrapnel and caught fire, as did the Wafic Said Supermarket. The Lebanese Health Ministry announced that one unidentified individual was immediately killed, another succumbed to his wounds and died later, and two were wounded. Almost immediately after the strike, the IDF released a statement saying it had targeted “two Hezbollah terrorists acting as lookouts and directing terror operations near Yohmor in south Lebanon.”
At approximately 7:13 pm, the Lebanese newspaper Annahar began reporting that the IDF launched a wave of airstrikes targeting several locales in the western Beqaa and south Lebanon. At approximately 7:24 pm, NNA Lebanon reported that five airstrikes—four from drones and one from an F-16—hit positions near Libbaya in the western Beqaa. No casualties were reported. At 7:26 pm, NNA Lebanon reported an Israeli airstrike on the route of the Litani River just west of Deir Mimas in south Lebanon, and another near Beaufort Castle just northeast of Yohmor. At 7:27 pm, NNA Lebanon reported Israeli airstrikes near the wadi of Zellaya and the hills of Jabbour in the western Beqaa.
At approximately 8:10 pm, the IDF released a statement on the strikes, saying it had “targeted Hezbollah military sites in which the group’s fighters and weapons were identified.” The statement stressed that “terrorist activity in these sites constitutes a threat to the State of Israel and a serious violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
