Israel Steps Up Strike On Hezbollah’s Elite Rudwan Force (Videos)

Illustrative image. (Israeli Defense Forces)

Israel has intensified its strikes against Hezbollah’s elite Rudwan force in recent days in what appears to be an attempt to further pressure the Lebanese group.

The escalation began on July 15 with a violent wave of Israeli strikes on the eastern Beqaa Valley. The IDF said at the time that military facilities belonging to Radwan force, where operatives and weapon depots were identified, were struck.

“The military camps that were targeted are used by the Hezbollah terror organization for training and preparing terrorists for the planning and execution of terror operations against IDF forces and the State of Israel,” the military said in a statement.

The weapons stored at the sites and Hezbollah’s activity “constitute a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, and pose a future threat to the State of Israel,” the statement added.

Lebanese media reported that the Israeli strikes on the Beqaa claimed the lives of five members of Hezbollah and seven Syrian nationals.

Two more members of Hezbollah were killed in separate strikes that targeted southern Lebanon, the heartland of the group, on July 17, according to the IDF.

The first strike, between the towns of Kfour and Toul near Nabatieh, killed Hassan Ahmad Sabra, a commander in the naval unit of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force, the military said, adding that a later strike hit the Naqoura area, killing a Hezbollah operative who the military says was involved in restoring the group’s capabilities in the area.

As usual, the IDF alleged that the activities of the two “constituted a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”

Later on July 19, two more members of Hezbollah were killed in separate Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon. The IDF said that the first strike in Khiam killed a Rudwan force member who was attempting to restore Hezbollah’s capabilities in the area, adding that his activities “constituted a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”

The other strike in Yohmor killed Ahmad Mohammad Salah, who the military said was responsible for Hezbollah’s forces in the town. Salah was also accused of being involved in the efforts to reestablish Hezbollah’s capabilities.

Israel claims that the Radwan force had in recent years planned to carry out a large-scale invasion of northern Israel, but was forced to shelve the plans after the Hamas Movement attacked southern Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023. Hezbollah began a skirmish in support of Hamas the very next day. Last year, the situation escalated into a full-blown war before the United States was able to broker a ceasefire in November.

The IDF continued to launch strikes against Hezbollah post the ceasefire, citing what is described as violations by the group. The military also refused to withdraw from southern Lebanon, keeping troops at five strategic posts close to the border.

The recent Israeli strikes on Rudwan forces are clearly meant to mount more pressure on Hezbollah, who recently rejected a U.S. request to completely disarm.

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