The Israel Defense Forces announced Tuesday that its troops recently crossed the Litani River for a weeklong raid against Hezbollah, as the terror group’s leader rejected any attempt by Israeli and Lebanese officials to achieve its disarmament during upcoming peace talks in Washington.
The weeklong raid was led by the Golani Brigade’s Reconnaissance Unit. The IDF said the troops achieved “operational control” over the area and worked to clear it of Hezbollah infrastructure.
The soldiers did not cross the line demarcating the IDF’s new security zone in southern Lebanon, referred to by some in the army as the “Yellow Line,” which is also the term used for the ceasefire line in the Gaza Strip.
During the raid, the military said, troops encountered numerous Hezbollah operatives and killed dozens of them in close-quarters combat and by directing airstrikes.
Officers involved in the operation described the terrain as “very complex,” as the river in the area is situated in a forested valley. Despite this, the troops managed to cross the river with armored vehicles. The army carried out engineering activity in the area to enable easier crossing of the river by troops in the future if required, the army said.
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The Israeli Air Force struck over 100 targets in the area in support of the ground troops, the military added.
Inside a Hezbollah tunnel found by IDF troops near the Litani River in southern Lebanon, in a video published by the IDF on May 12, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
Israeli strikes Monday night on a town in southern Lebanon killed six people and wounded seven others, according to a Lebanese state media report that did not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
According to the National News Agency (NNA), Israeli strikes hit a house in Kfar Dounine, a town about 95 kilometers (59 miles) from Beirut.
NNA reported the wounded were transported to hospitals in the coastal city of Tyre.
There was no immediate comment from the IDF on the strike.
An IDF tank is seen at the Litani River in southern Lebanon, in a handout photo published by the military on May 12, 2026. (Israel Defense Forces)
IDF: Struck 45 Hezbollah targets in 24 hours
The IDF said Tuesday morning that it had struck some 45 total Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon over the preceding 24 hours, including command centers, surveillance posts, staging grounds, buildings used by the terror group, and some 10 weapon depots.
The IAF also struck Hezbollah missile launchers and several operatives who posed a threat to IDF troops in the area, the military added.
Two Lebanese civil defense members were killed in a strike on Tuesday in the southern town of Nabatieh on Tuesday while carrying out a rescue mission after an earlier attack, Lebanon’s state news agency NNA reported.
On Monday, the IDF said troops identified and struck a Hezbollah launch cell after it fired rockets at forces operating in the area. The army published footage of the strike.
תיעוד: כוחות אוגדה 91 חיסלו חוליית שיגור שפעלה להעביר משגר טילים על גבי משאית לאחר שביצעה ירי לעבר כוחותינו
חטיבת האש של אוגדה 91 זיהתה חוליית שיגור שפעלה להעביר משגר טילים על גבי משאית, זאת לאחר ששיגר רקטות לעבר כוחות צה”ל הפועלים בדרום לבנון.
לאחר הזיהוי, חיל האוויר בהכוונת… pic.twitter.com/jOMdJJmnfd
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 11, 2026
Hezbollah also fired several rockets at Israeli troops stationed in southern Lebanon overnight Monday-Tuesday; the military said the rockets struck open areas, and did not cause any injuries.
On Tuesday, Hezbollah fired a surface-to-air missile at an Israeli drone operating over southern Lebanon. The military said the terror group’s missile launch “failed,” and no damage or injuries were caused in the incident.
A short while later, the IAF struck a suspect who fled from the area of the missile launch on a motorcycle, the IDF added.
לפני זמן קצר, כחלק מפעילות סיוע של חיל האוויר לכוחות הלוחמים בדרום לבנון, בוצע ניסיון שיגור כושל של טיל זעיר קרקע-אוויר לעבר כלי טיס. אין נזק ואין נפגעים לכוחותינו.
בסגירת מעגל מהירה, חיל האוויר תקף חשוד שנמלט מיד לאחר מכן ממרחב השיגור על גבי אופנוע.
בנוסף, חיל האוויר יירט… pic.twitter.com/YPvOBs0xOr
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 12, 2026
In a separate incident, the IDF said Hezbollah launched several explosive drones at Israeli troops in southern Lebanon. No injuries were caused. The IAF also shot down several apparent drones.
The military also said Tuesday afternoon that an interceptor missile was launched at an apparent Hezbollah drone identified over an area of southern Lebanon where troops are deployed.
The IDF said it lost contact with the “suspicious aerial target,” indicating it crashed somewhere. No injuries were reported.
In recent weeks, troops operating near the Lebanese border have come under near-daily attacks from Hezbollah’s explosive drones.
The problem led IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir to convene a high-level discussion on Sunday with defense and intelligence officials on the growing threat, according to Channel 12.
Hezbollah chief: Disarming not part of Israel-Lebanon talks
The latest fighting came amid American attempts to broker an Israel-Lebanon rapprochement.
On Tuesday, Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said the negotiations would have no effect on his Iran-backed group’s weapons. Disarming Hezbollah has been named by officials as a key goal of the talks, and is an effort Lebanon has previously committed to undertake, though it has not managed to fully implement a plan to do so.
“Nobody outside Lebanon has anything to do with the weapons, the resistance… this is an internal Lebanese matter and not part of negotiations with the enemy,” Qassem said in a pre-written statement ahead of a third round of talks this Thursday and Friday.
Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem gives a televised address in Lebabon, April 13, 2026. (Screenshot/Al Mayadeen via X)
“We will not surrender and we will continue to defend Lebanon and its people, however long it takes and however great the sacrifices… we will not abandon the battlefield and we will turn it into hell for Israel,” he added in the statement, which was addressed to the terror group’s fighters and broadcast on its Al-Manar television channel.
On Monday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam met separately with US Ambassador Michel Issa, in preparation for the talks with Israel.
Salam said he asked Issa to “exert pressure on Israel to stop the ongoing attacks and violations, in order to consolidate the ceasefire.”
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam speaks at a joint declaration press event with France’s President Emmanuel Macron following their meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris, France, April 21, 2026. (Ludovic Marin/Pool Photo via AP)
Hezbollah and Israel have continued to strike each other despite a US-announced truce, claiming violations. Under the terms of the ceasefire published by Washington, Israel reserves the right to act against “planned, imminent or ongoing attacks.” It says it only targets terror operatives.
IDF censures commander who let soldiers into Lebanon for unauthorized visit
Amid the developments, the commander of the Givati Brigade, Col. Netanel Shamaka, received a formal censure for allowing four soldiers to enter the southern Lebanon town of Bint Jbeil for “non-operational purposes” last month.
The military said Tuesday that the incident had been investigated and presented to the relevant commanders, and it was decided by the chief of the Northern Command, Maj. Gen. Rafi Milo, to mark Shamaka’s permanent record over the unauthorized visit.
The four troops — three reservists and one soldier from the standing army — are bereaved family members whose relatives were killed in Bint Jbeil in previous wars.
During the ceasefire in Lebanon, Shamaka allowed the four to enter Bint Jbeil to recite Kaddish, the mourner’s prayer, even though Hezbollah operatives were still holed up in the town.