Over 250 Hezbollah terrorists reportedly killed since beginning of IDF ground incursion in Lebanon

Israel Defense Forces announced on Friday that it eliminated more than 250 Hezbollah terrorists since the beginning of the Israeli ground offensive in southern Lebanon earlier this week. Among those killed were five brigade-level commanders, 10 company commanders, six platoon commanders and 21 field commanders, according to the IDF.

An updated assessment suggested that as many as 400 Hezbollah terrorists have been killed by IDF troops in recent days.

During one clash on Thursday, Israeli forces eliminated 15 Hezbollah terrorists, while one IDF soldier was wounded in the battle. Overall, nine Israeli soldiers have been killed since the fighting began with Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon. Like the Hamas terrorist organization, Hezbollah has deliberately embedded itself in civilian structures, including schools, mosques, hospitals and residential buildings, which constitutes a war crime under international law.

The IDF's 98th and 36th Divisions are currently engaging Hezbollah terrorists in numerous villages and towns in southern Lebanon. In addition, troops have uncovered large caches of weapons left behind by Hezbollah forces.

The IDF announced it is conducting “limited, localized, and targeted raids.” The overall goal of the IDF ground offensive is to neutralize the Hezbollah threat close to the Israeli border and enable the return of some 60,000 evacuated Israelis to their homes in northern Israel after one year.

On Friday, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant warned that Israel has “more surprises in store” and stressed that the IDF had already delivered severe blows to Hezbollah.

“Hezbollah is receiving very severe blows, one after the other. We eliminated [Hezbollah chief Hassan] Nasrallah and we have more surprises in store, some of which have already been carried out and some of which will be carried out,” Gallant stated during his visit to the 36th Division headquarters in northern Israel.

“[Hezbollah’s] missile and rocket division suffered a very heavy blow. A significant part was destroyed as a result of a high-quality and precise operation. Command and control headquarters, communications, the entire leadership of [the elite Radwan Force], and in fact, the entire second and third tiers of command below Nasrallah were eliminated,” the defense minister added.

Gallant also said the Israeli military was currently “carrying out an operation today in several villages, and this process will continue wherever necessary to destroy all the infrastructure from which Hezbollah planned to carry out attacks.”

Since launching an unprovoked attack on Israel on Oct. 8, 2023, Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces in Lebanon have fired over 9,000 rockets, missiles and exploding drones into the Jewish state.

Dozens of Israeli civilians and IDF soldiers have been killed and Israel has responded by stepping up its attacks on Hezbollah forces and assets across Lebanon and in neighboring Syria since last week.

In recent weeks, the IDF has eliminated most of Hezbollah’s top leadership, including Sec.-Gen. Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed on Sept. 27 in a massive Israeli aerial strike on Hezbollah’s headquarters in the Lebanese capital of Beirut.

The Israeli military has stressed that the current ground offensive in southern Lebanon is limited in scope, and it seeks to wrap up the intensive phase of the operation within a few weeks.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military announced on Friday that it had eliminated Muhammad Rashid Sakafi, a senior Hezbollah operative, in an aerial strike in Beirut. Sakafi was the head of the terror group's communications division.

“Sakafi invested significant efforts to develop communication capabilities between all of Hezbollah’s units in all periods of operation, to maintain the flow of information throughout the terrorist organization,” the IDF stated.