Hezbollah Targets Israeli Soldiers in Rashaf and Balat With Rockets and Drones

The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon said it targeted a gathering of Israeli soldiers in Rashaf and the newly established Balat site in southern Lebanon with rockets, describing the actions as a response to Israeli ceasefire violations and attacks on southern villages that caused civilian casualties. In two statements, the group said its fighters struck Israeli troops in Rashaf with a drone at 16:30 and hit the Balat site at 18:00 on Tuesday. Press TV also said Hezbollah carried out 11 operations against Israeli targets using drones, missiles, and artillery, including attacks on enemy military gatherings in Naqoura twice on Sunday using suicide drones. The same Press TV report said Hezbollah fighters concentrated operations against enemy soldiers stationed in Bayyadah, including drone strikes and the destruction of an Namer armored personnel carrier along with its occupants using suicide drones.

Hezbollah’s stated rationale in the sources ties its strikes to ceasefire violations and ongoing attacks on southern villages, with the Saba report saying the operations were in response to “Israeli ceasefire violations and attacks on southern villages, which caused civilian casualties.” In a separate report, the Times of Israël said Lebanon’s government decided on Thursday to ban any potential military activity by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and require visas on entry for Iranians into the country, aiming to tighten the noose around Hezbollah. The Times of Israël also quoted Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem saying, “By God, how strange you are,” addressing the Lebanese government, and asserted that the resumption of rocket fire on Israel was “a response to 15 months of violations against us.” The same Times of Israël account said Qassem argued that “As long as there is occupation, the resistance and the weapons will be a right,” linking the group’s posture to Israel’s presence.

The Press TV report said that over 2,500 people have been killed in Lebanon since the Israeli regime went on the offensive on March 2, and it described continued Israeli violations of a ceasefire that Tel Aviv was compelled to accept after Tehran demanded an end to Israeli attacks on Lebanese soil. It added that the Israeli military quickly resumed assaults on southern Lebanon and issued evacuation threats for several areas even after the initial ten-day truce between Tel Aviv and Beirut was extended for an additional three weeks. In parallel, the Times of Israël said Lebanon’s Council of Ministers decided that, in the event of confirmed presence of IRGC members in Lebanon, it would “ban any activity... and arrest them... for extradition.” The Saba report framed the resistance’s operations as continuing against Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty, while the Al-Manar TV Lebanon account listed timed strikes on Tuesday including targeting a gathering of “Israeli” enemy army soldiers in Rshaf town at 16:30 with a loitering glider and targeting the newly established Blat site at 18:00 with a rocket barrage.