Hezbollah Kills Two Israeli Soldiers After Bulldozer Strike In Southern Lebanon

In Lebanon, cross-border exchanges intensified as Hezbollah and Israeli forces traded attacks across multiple locations in the south and beyond.

The Times of Israel reported that “Two Israeli soldiers were killed in an attack launched by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon at dawn on Sunday,” describing how a Puma armored personnel carrier became stuck and how “one of the bulldozers was struck by a shell, possibly an anti-tank missile or a mortar round, causing a fire that killed the two soldiers.”

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The same incident was also described by الشرق, which said the Puma APC became stuck during operations and that “one of the two D9s was struck by a projectile, believed to be an anti-tank missile or a mortar round, causing a fire that killed the two soldiers.”

In parallel, الجزيرة نت said that “Twenty-three Lebanese were killed today, Sunday, as a result of an Israeli attack on a hotel in central Beirut and a residential building in a town in the south of the country,” adding that the Israeli army announced the death of two soldiers due to a D9 bulldozer strike in southern Lebanon.

The same report further specified that an Israeli airstrike hit an apartment in the Ramada hotel in the Raouche area in central Beirut, killing four people and injuring 10 others, and it said that 19 Lebanese were killed by an airstrike on a three-story residential building in Sayr al-Gharbiyah in Nabatieh District.

The Lebanese Health Ministry figures also appeared in الشرق, which said Israeli strikes on Lebanon “have killed 394 people, including 83 children.”

Hezbollah’s statements described a sequence of operations aimed at Israeli forces and equipment in southern Lebanon, tying the attacks to “ceasefire violations and attacks on civilians.”

The Palestine Chronicle said Hezbollah announced “three military operations targeting Israeli forces in southern Lebanon” and that the first operation took place at “6:00 AM,” when Hezbollah fighters targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in Taybeh using what it described as “appropriate weapons.”

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It said a second operation followed at “10:00 AM,” targeting another Israeli military gathering in the same area using a “one-way attack drone,” and it added that at “10:30 AM” Hezbollah announced a third operation, stating that its fighters “successfully shot down an Israeli reconnaissance drone over the town of Majdal Zoun.”

The same report said the operations were carried out “in defense of Lebanon and its people” and “in direct response to an Israeli strike on the southern town of Al-Tiri on Wednesday,” and it described the strike as killing “three civilians, including journalist Amal Khalil, and wounded others, among them journalist Zeinab Faraj.”

Al-Manar TV Lebanon also framed attacks as retaliation for Israeli actions, saying Islamic Resistance fighters targeted the Shtoula settlement with “a rocket barrage” and targeted “a gathering of Israeli enemy soldiers and vehicles in the vicinity of Jamil Bazzi School in the city of Bint Jbeil with artillery shells.”

Anadolu Ajansı reported that Hezbollah said it struck an Israeli bulldozer carrying out demolition operations in Rashaf using an attack drone and fired rockets toward Shtula, while also saying Hezbollah attacked a gathering of Israeli soldiers and vehicles near a school in Bint Jbeil with artillery fire.

The sources tied the fighting to ceasefire violations and described a broader escalation that included airstrikes, artillery shelling, and demolition operations across southern Lebanon.

Palestine Chronicle said the operations came “amid ongoing Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement that came into effect at midnight between Thursday and Friday under a 10-day truce,” and it added that Israeli forces continued “airstrikes, artillery shelling, and demolition operations across southern Lebanon.”

It listed towns including Khiam, Bint Jbeil, Aitaroun, Rashaf, and Shamaa as among those targeted, and it said a drone strike in Yahmar al-Shaqif killed “two people and injured two others,” citing Lebanon’s Ministry of Health.

Anadolu Ajansı reported that “Israeli army launches airstrikes in Lebanon as Hezbollah targets troops and machinery in south,” and it described cross-border exchanges as “intensified” as sirens sounded in Shtula in the western sector along the Lebanese border.

In parallel, التلفزيون العربي said that data from the Lebanese Ministry of Health indicated that “the ongoing Israeli aggression against Lebanon since March 2 of this year through Wednesday has killed 1,001 people and injured 2,584 others.”

Meanwhile, الجزيرة نت described displacement and the scale of registration, saying “454,000 Lebanese registered themselves as displaced” and that “about 100,000 people are in government shelters.”

The reporting includes competing claims about who struck whom and why, with each side framing its actions as defensive.

The Times of Israel said Israel continued “its intensive airstrikes in Lebanon,” while the army reported “about 200 Hezbollah fighters and other groups killed since the escalation of fighting last week,” and it described the Hezbollah attack as occurring “at dawn on Sunday.”

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The same article quoted an Israeli warning from IDF spokesperson Colonel Avichai Adraei, saying: “The terrorist activities of Hezbollah force the IDF to act against it with great force in that area.”

It also quoted the IDF’s evacuation message: “The raids continue as the IDF operates with substantial force in the area, and for your safety we again urge you to evacuate your homes immediately and head north of the Litani River right away.”

On the Hezbollah side, Palestine Chronicle said Hezbollah’s operations were carried out “in defense of Lebanon and its people” and “in direct response to an Israeli strike on the southern town of Al-Tiri on Wednesday,” and it described the strike as killing journalist Amal Khalil.

Al-Manar TV Lebanon similarly presented Hezbollah’s actions as retaliation for Israeli “violation of the ceasefire” and “targeting of the town of Yater in southern Lebanon,” stating that Islamic Resistance fighters targeted Shtoula with a “rocket barrage.”

Beyond the immediate battlefield, the sources described international and governmental actions affecting Lebanon, including evacuations and warnings to civilians.

The Times of Israel reported that “On Sunday night, Israel bombed a luxury hotel in Beirut, killing at least four people,” and it said the Israeli army carried out an attack targeting senior leaders in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

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It also described evacuation efforts, saying “more than 100 Iranians, including diplomats, were evacuated from Beirut during the night,” and it quoted a Lebanese official to AFP: “117 Iranians, including diplomats and embassy staff, were evacuated on a Russian plane that left Beirut on Sunday night.”

The Times of Israel added that the evacuation came after the Lebanese government “banned any activity by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Hezbollah's main backer,” and “also imposed a visa requirement on Iranians wishing to enter the country, as part of pressure on Hezbollah.”

In parallel, الجزيرة نت said the targeted hotel “houses displaced people who fled the war in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut,” and it described the Israeli army’s claim that the strike targeted “central leaders in the Iranian Quds Force.”

Finally, Masrawy said Israeli bulldozers entered Naqoura and began demolishing houses and some of the town’s landmarks, underscoring continued pressure on communities in southern Lebanon.