Hezbollah fires rockets at troops in Lebanon, no injuries; IDF strikes terror sites

Seven reported killed in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanese villages after evacuation warnings; military says it targeted and destroyed some 50 Hezbollah sites Friday

Hezbollah launched attacks on Israeli troops as the military carried out airstrikes that reportedly killed at least seven people in Lebanon, as hostilities continued to rage on Saturday despite a declared ceasefire.

One rocket fired by Hezbollah at Israeli soldiers stationed in southern Lebanon was intercepted, while several more rockets and explosive-laden drones launched by the Iran-backed terror group exploded near the forces but did not cause any injuries, the Israel Defense Forces said.

On Friday night, Hezbollah also launched at least four drones at northern Israel. According to the IDF, the Israeli Air Force shot down two drones from Lebanon, which triggered sirens in the Galilee Panhandle and Golan Heights.

The drones did not cross into Israeli territory yet sirens were still activated, the military said, adding that the incident is under further investigation.

A short while later, two more suspected drones launched from Lebanon were intercepted before crossing into Israeli territory, the military said. No sirens had sounded.

Additionally, the IDF said it launched interceptor missiles following alerts of rocket fire in the Kiryat Shmona area on Friday night. The results of the interceptions are under review, and the incident is under further investigation, the IDF added.

Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes on southern Lebanon killed at least seven people and wounded others on Saturday, Lebanese media reported.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported an airstrike on a car in the village of Kfar Dajal that killed two people, while another hit a home in the village of Lwaizeh, killing three. NNA also reported a strike on the village of Shoukin that killed two people.

The reports did not say if the casualties were terror operatives or civilians.

The strikes came as Israel’s military issued a new warning for residents of nine other southern villages to evacuate ahead of airstrikes targeting the Hezbollah terror group.

Additionally, the IDF said it killed Hezbollah operatives identified near troops in southern Lebanon, as well as struck and destroyed some 120 Hezbollah sites over the weekend.

The targets included command centers where members of the terror group were operating, weapons depots, and other buildings used by Hezbollah to advance attacks, according to the IDF.

Hezbollah and Israel have continued to attack each other since US President Donald Trump first announced a ceasefire on April 16, with each side accusing the other of violating the truce. On Saturday, the Lebanese army said its commander Gen. Rudolf Haykal met with US Gen. Joseph Clearfield, who heads the committee monitoring the ceasefire — which has now largely unraveled, though fighting remains at a lower level than before.

The participants at the meeting underlined the importance of the Lebanese army’s role and the need to support it during the current phase, Lebanese statement added.

Hezbollah has slammed the Lebanese government for engaging in US-brokered talks with Israel amid the ceasefire. Washington has urged Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun, whose government seeks to disarm Hezbollah, to meet directly with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which Aoun has so far avoided.

Israel has carried out massive airstrikes and pushed troops farther into Lebanon after Hezbollah, on March 2, launched its rocket attacks on Israel in support of its patron, Iran.

The terror group has said its renewed attacks on Israel were in response both to the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei at the start of the US-Israeli bombing campaign in Iran on February 28, and to Israel’s continued attacks and presence in Lebanon since a 2024 ceasefire deal — which Israel said came in response to ongoing violations.

Over 2,500 people have been killed and about a million displaced in Lebanon since March 2, according to Lebanese authorities. The IDF says it has killed over 1,900 Hezbollah operatives, including hundreds of members of the terror group’s elite Radwan Force.

Seventeen IDF soldiers and one Defense Ministry civilian contractor have been killed in southern Lebanon amid fighting against Hezbollah. Two civilians were also killed by Hezbollah rockets, and an Israeli civilian was mistakenly killed in the north by Israeli artillery shelling.