IDF kills 2 Hezbollah commanders in weekend strike, following drone attack on soldiers in southern Lebanon
Israeli military to seize Ali al-Taher Ridge, site of extensive Hezbollah infrastructure
The IDF renewed operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon over the weekend, after three Israeli soldiers were wounded in a drone attack late Friday night.
On Saturday, the military announced that an IDF officer and two soldiers were seriously wounded in an explosive drone attack in southern Lebanon.
In response, the Israeli army struck multiple Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon on Saturday, focusing on Hezbollah infrastructure in the Nabatieh and Ansar areas, following the injury of the three soldiers near Ali Taher Ridge and al-Nabatieh al-Fawqa.
The IDF later claimed that Hezbollah commander Ali Samir al-Haj Hassan, a battalion commander in Hezbollah’s Radwan Force, was killed in the strikes.
🔴ELIMINATED: Ali Samir Al-Haj Hassan, a Hezbollah battalion commander in the Radwan Force unit.
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 15, 2026
Hassan was eliminated in an IDF strike on a central HQ of the Radwan Force unit in the Ansar area in southern Lebanon, following a Hezbollah terror attack against IDF soldiers…
According to an IDF statement, Hassan was killed in an IDF strike on a central headquarters of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Force in the Ansar area in southern Lebanon, alongside several other terrorists. The military said that Hassan’s family was present with him at the site, and were injured in the strike, accusing him of using the family as “human shields.”
“Hassan’s family was also present with him inside the military HQ & was harmed in the strike,” the military acknowledged in the statement. “The strike was specifically directed at Hassan, who was a lawful target under international law, not at his family members who he used as human shields – hiding alongside them inside the military HQ.”
The Prime Minister’s Office announced the Hezbollah ceasefire violation in an unusual post to 𝕏 before the end of the Sabbath.
“This morning Hezbollah violated the ceasefire in Lebanon by attacking our soldiers in the security zone, which protects Israeli communities just across the border,” the PMO statement said.
The Prime Minister's Office:
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) August 15, 2026
This morning Hezbollah violated the ceasefire in Lebanon by attacking our soldiers in the security zone, which protects Israeli communities just across the border. The Hezbollah attack seriously injured three of our soldiers. The IDF responded by…
“Hezbollah is willing to do anything, including using its own civilians as human shields, to falsely accuse Israel of deliberately targeting civilians, which the IDF clearly did not,” the statement said, referring to the injury of Hassan’s family members in the strike.
On Sunday morning, the military announced that it also killed Abu Hassan Alaa, a senior commander in Hezbollah’s “Badr Unit," in response to continued Hezbollah aggression towards Israeli soldiers inside the Security Zone in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah’s “Badr” unit is responsible for area north of the Litani River.
The military said that “Hassan Alaa took part in advancing numerous terror attacks against IDF soldiers operating in the Security Zone, including the launch of explosive drones toward IDF soldiers in southern Lebanon.”
Despite announcing the killings of the two Hezbollah commanders, the IDF did not acknowledge reports in Lebanese media of intense strikes in southern Lebanon overnight.
Lebanese media had reported extensive artillery fire at targets in the villages of Rouman and Deir Sirian and surrounding areas, while on social media there were claims of ground activity by IDF soldiers.
According to the reports in Lebanese media, 11 people were killed in Israeli strikes between Saturday and Sunday, including three children and two women.
The IDF is planning to take control of the Ali al-Teher Ridge in southern Lebanon and is only awaiting U.S. approval, Lebanese media reported on Friday.
Lebanese newspaper Al Joumhouria cited a U.S. official, who reportedly informed the Lebanese government that Israel was planning to seize the ridge from Hezbollah.
The official told the government that the U.S. would not prevent the operation, but had asked Israel to conduct a precise operation with minimal civilian casualties, so as not to upset the ongoing agreements with Lebanon.
A source close to U.S. Lieutenant General Joseph R. Clearfield, who heads the U.S.-led Ceasefire monitoring mechanism established following the Lebanon truce of April 16, 2026, told the Lebanese MTV channel that due to a lack of response by Hezbollah to the ceasefire efforts, Israel would soon take control of the ridge and expand military activity in the area.
According to Lebanese newspaper Nidaa al Watan, the IDF has been using robotic systems to establish positions in the area, reducing the risk to soldiers.
The outlet claimed that Israel’s interest in seizing the ridge is due to the presence of multiple Hezbollah tunnels and facilities beneath the ridge, which could be used to threaten Israeli positions in the southern Lebanon security zone.
This claim was supported by a report from Israel’s Channel 12, which also noted the presence of an extensive Hezbollah tunnel system under the ridge.
Meanwhile, a report in Lebanese newspaper An Nahar, claims that the IDF demanded the Lebanese Armed Forces enter a Hezbollah compound in the Ali al-Taher area to verify that Hezbollah's infrastructure there has been dismantled. The outlet said Beirut is not willing to do so, as it would put the Lebanese army in direct confrontation with Hezbollah.
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