IDF strikes strategic Hezbollah compound in north Lebanon amid incessant drone attacks on northern Israel

Hezbollah shoots down $10 million Israeli drone over Lebanon

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The Israeli Air Force (IAF) carried out possibly its deepest strike in Lebanon yet, as Hezbollah continued its incessant attacks on northern Israel throughout Monday and Tuesday morning, while also shooting down an IDF drone over Lebanese territory.

The IDF strike on a strategic compound in northern Lebanon was prompted by Hezbollah's fifth successful downing of an Israeli drone.

According to Army Radio, the group shot down its third drone of the Hermes 900 type since the start of the war. It is one of the largest drones operated by the IAF, with a cost of approximately $10 million. In addition, two smaller Hermes 450 drones were also downed by Hezbollah.

#WATCH | Footage being circulated on social media depicting the moment an Israeli drone was shot down in the skies of Southern #Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/0z7l1wnYl0
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 10, 2024

The incident followed heavy attacks on northern Israel on Monday. Before noon, the terror group had already fired six anti-tank missiles at Israeli towns, heavily damaging several buildings and causing fires.

In the afternoon, the terrorists switched to drone attacks, with two drones being intercepted in the area of Nahariya, and two drones striking open areas on nearby Kibbutz Kabri, lightly wounding a citizen.

תיעוד מטריד: כטב"ם של חיזבאללה בשמי נהריה + אי הגעה למרחב מוגן pic.twitter.com/h1q8ToV0Uf
— איתי בלומנטל 🇮🇱 Itay Blumental (@ItayBlumental) June 10, 2024

Two more drones exploded in the northern Golan Heights, causing a fire to ignite. Five people were transferred to a hospital after suffering from smoke inhalation caused by the blaze.

Later, two additional drones were intercepted near Nahariya and over the Golan Heights.

5/ Lebanon: An Israeli Army Radio correspondent highlighted some of the challenges that Israeli forces face intercepting drones targeting northern Israel in an X (Twitter) post on June 10. These challenges are particularly salient given the increased risk of a major war between… pic.twitter.com/p3IIQSa8M0
— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) June 11, 2024

The IDF said it was investigating why it was unable to intercept several of the drone attacks in recent days.

Many of the recent false alarms may have reportedly been caused by increasing the sensitivity of the IDF's radar sensors in an effort to improve the detection of drone attacks.

מטוסי קרב של חיל האוויר תקפו במהלך הלילה מתחם צבאי של יחידה 4400, יחידת ההתעצמות הלוגיסטית של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה, המשמשת גורם לשינוע אמצעי לחימה אל לבנון ובתוכה.
במתחם נתקפו שני מוקדים הממוקמים במרחב בעלבכ שבעומק לבנון>> pic.twitter.com/Y9c9KtY8mO
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) June 11, 2024

After the Hezbollah attacks, the IAF initially struck targets in Aytaroun and Ayta al-Sha’ab near the border before attacking the Hezbollah compound in the Hermel region in northern Lebanon, about 130 km (80 miles) from the Israeli border.

Overnight, IAF fighter jets struck a military complex of the Hezbollah 4400 unit, the logistical reinforcement unit of the Hezbollah terrorist organization. The unit is used to smuggle weapons to and from Lebanon. In the complex, two sites located in the area of Baalbek deep in Lebanon were struck,

The IDF stated: "Overnight, IAF fighter jets struck a military complex of the Hezbollah 4400 unit, the logistical reinforcement unit of the Hezbollah terrorist organization. The unit is used to smuggle weapons to and from Lebanon. In the complex, two sites located in the area of Baalbek deep in Lebanon were struck.”

The terror group later announced that three of its operatives were killed in the strikes.

🟥 לוחמי ההגנה האווירית יירטו בשעה האחרונה, מטרה אווירית חשודה שזוהתה בשמי הים מול חופי חיפה, לא הופעלו התרעות על חדירת כלי טיס עוין על פי מדיניות. אין נפגעים ולא נגרם נזק. pic.twitter.com/Sig5wSBzw4
— Asslan Khalil (@KhalilAsslan) June 11, 2024

On Tuesday morning, the IDF intercepted another drone off the coast of Haifa, without activating alarm sirens. Haifa, Israel's largest metropolitan area in northern Israel, was last attacked by Hezbollah in January.

Another drone was intercepted as it approached the southern city of Eilat “from the east,” after reportedly being launched by an Iranian proxy militia in Iraq.

אחרי היירוט בשמי חיפה: עשרות שיגורים לכיוון קצרין | תיעוד היירוטים מעל העירhttps://t.co/4frlaJX8LE | @Gitsis pic.twitter.com/O5k0LUpi47
— החדשות - N12 (@N12News) June 11, 2024

Later on Tuesday morning, Hezbollah launched approximately 50 rockets toward the central Golan Heights and the city of Katzrin, in an apparent response to the overnight strike in Hermel. The rockets fell in open areas without causing casualties.