Israeli strike kills Lebanese army general, two soldiers; IDF says incident under review

The Lebanese army said an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon on Saturday killed a senior commander, another officer and a soldier, as the IDF issued fresh evacuation warnings and Hezbollah continued launching drones toward Israeli troops and communities along the northern border.

According to the Lebanese Armed Forces, the strike targeted a military vehicle traveling on a road between Kfar Tebnit and Khardali in the Nabatieh area, killing a brigadier general, a captain and a soldier.

“The continued, deliberate, and repeated Israeli aggression against Lebanon, its people and its army only strengthens our resolve, faith and determination,” the army said in its statement.

It said Israel’s attacks aim to thwart all efforts “to reach a solution that would restore stability, establish a comprehensive ceasefire and lead to the Israeli withdrawal from the occupied Lebanese territories.”

The IDF later acknowledged carrying out the strike, saying the vehicle was “moving suspiciously” in an active combat zone where movement requires prior coordination with Israeli forces. The military said troops operating in the area had been on heightened alert due to intelligence warnings of potential Hezbollah attacks and information indicating the terror group was active in the vicinity.

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“Following the identification, and due to the warning information and the danger to the forces, the vehicle was struck,” the IDF said.

The military confirmed that the vehicle was carrying two Lebanese army officers and a soldier, adding that the incident is under further review.

The Lebanese army has largely stayed out of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel and has not taken part in the fighting during the current conflict.

Late Friday, Lebanon also reported that five other people were killed in an Israeli strike.

“The Israeli enemy strike on the town of Zebdine in the Nabatieh district killed five people including a woman and a paramedic from the Risala Association, and wounded two people including a paramedic,” a ministry statement said, referring to emergency responders affiliated with Hezbollah ally the Amal movement.

The strike came as the IDF ordered residents of five southern Lebanese localities — Aaramta, Machghara, Kafr Houna, Sejoud and Ansariyeh — to evacuate ahead of planned operations against Hezbollah.

In a statement in Arabic, IDF spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee instructed residents to move north of the Zahrani River, saying the military was “forced to act forcefully” in the area due to the presence of Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure, which he said violated the ceasefire agreement.

Meanwhile, sirens continued sounding in northern Israel amid ongoing Hezbollah drone attacks, despite a recently renewed ceasefire between Jerusalem and Beirut.

Following drone infiltration alerts in the border community of Zarit on Saturday morning, the IDF said an unmanned aerial vehicle crashed in southern Lebanon near an area where Israeli troops were operating. No injuries were reported.

Earlier, the military said it had intercepted one Hezbollah drone while two others impacted in an area of southern Lebanon where troops were deployed after warning sirens were activated in northern Israel. No casualties were reported in those incidents either.

The fighting was accompanied by a diplomatic spat between Lebanon and Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected comments made Friday by Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, who accused Tehran of using Lebanon as a “bargaining chip” in negotiations with the United States and said the Lebanese people were paying the price for Iranian interests.

“Based on Mr. Aoun’s comments, one would think it’s Iran that has occupied 1/5 of Lebanon, displaced 1/4 of Lebanese and bombing his country on daily basis,” Araghchi wrote on X.

“Had Lebanon been a bargaining chip for Iran, we’d have a deal long ago,” he added, before urging Aoun to “save Lebanon from your real foe.”

Aoun’s comments came after Hezbollah spurned the new US-brokered ceasefire agreement between the Israeli and Lebanese governments.