The IDF on Monday attacked Hezbollah around 100 kilometers deep into the territory of the Bekaa Valley for the first time in weeks, in an attempt to set its own rules for the current post-ceasefire period.
The IDF-Hezbollah ceasefire technically started on April 17. Although the air force struck a large number of targets shortly after the April 7 ceasefire with Iran kicked in, the IDF started focusing more of its attacks on southern Lebanon, which is closer to Israeli territory.
Even after Israel attacked Hezbollah's weapons storage and rocket-related weaponry in the Bekaa Valley, it did not attack Hezbollah in Beirut.
Before the current ceasefire with Hezbollah, the IDF had hammered Hezbollah in its Dahiyeh stronghold of Beirut, leading to around 600,000 Shi’ites affiliated with Hezbollah having to evacuate the area.
Hezbollah has responded and continued to respond on Monday with a mix of sporadic rocket fire and drone launches on Israeli civilians in the North as well as at IDF soldiers in southern Lebanon.
Later on Monday, the military issued an additional statement, saying that the IDF had struck over 20 terror infrastructure sites in the Bekaa Valley on Monday.
Targets included Hezbollah rocket launchers and weapons facilities, as well as additional military structures, the military said.
Hezbollah launches drone toward IDF soldiers
On Sunday, the IDF announced one soldier was killed, and several were wounded in one of the drone attacks.
In contrast, as of press time on Monday, the IDF said it had shot down Hezbollah’s aerial threats, or in some cases, the drones retreated.
It should be noted that sometimes additional information about wounded soldiers is released overnight.
The IDF also extended movement and public gatherings restrictions through Tuesday, and the government issued special restrictions through May 7.
In addition, one Hezbollah official on Monday threatened to start using suicide bombers against the IDF – a tactic it used against both the Israeli and American militaries in the 1980s, when the terror group had less sophisticated weaponry.
In addition, top Hezbollah and Lebanese government officials traded accusations over which of them was betraying the Lebanese nation by either negotiating or fighting with Israel.
The Lebanese government has pressed for a complete ceasefire in the hopes of moving toward an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon. In exchange, they’re also hoping for some form of improved relations with Jerusalem.
The IDF has wanted to continue destroying Hezbollah terror infrastructure in southern Lebanon, although, notably, it has been restraining its attacks beyond the Litani River. The IDF hopes that this will provide it with leverage to lead to a disarmament process for Hezbollah.
In contrast, Hezbollah seeks to thwart diplomatic contacts; they also want to intimidate the IDF into withdrawing from southern Lebanon without paying a major price.
On Monday, the IDF put out several statements with updates regarding its attacks on Hezbollah, in addition to the air force attacks in the Bekaa Valley.
Earlier on Monday, the IDF said that the Golani Brigade had destroyed over 50 terror infrastructure sites in recent days.
They accomplished this while penetrating into the Adashit al-Kutzir area, including uncovering an underground command center.
In this specific instance, the IDF accused Hezbollah of using civilian areas to store its weapons and to cover up its terror activities.
In another statement, the IDF said that Division 36 killed a number of Hezbollah fighters, with whom they came into relatively close contact.
They said that the Hezbollah terrorists were killed by a mix of close-range fire by the soldiers, as well as the use of a drone.
Furthermore, the IDF said that Division 36 located and seized anti-tank missiles, remote-controlled explosive drones, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, Kalashnikovs, grenades, improvised explosives, and other weapons.
Likewise, Division 98 located a number of Hezbollah fighters near their positions,
The infantry soldiers helped guide the air force to attack the Hezbollah fighters.
Next, the IDF said that it took over and destroyed Hezbollah’s headquarters in the village of Bint Jbeil in southern Lebanon, where the two sides had fought for several weeks.
Meanwhile, in Gaza, the IDF said that Division 252, along with the Yahalom special forces, has killed around 70 Hamas terrorists and destroyed around 14 kilometers worth of its tunnels in recent months.
Most of this has been in the Beit Hanoun area or other parts of northern Gaza.