IDF kills senior Hezbollah leader, 2 others in strike in southern Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has confirmed the killing of a senior Hezbollah terrorist, Zakaria Yahya al-Hajj, in an airstrike carried out in the Jwaya area of southern Lebanon, hours after it confirmed the killing of two Hezbollah terrorists in the region.

In a post on X on late Sunday, the IDF stated that al-Hajj played a key role in activating agents within Lebanon's security systems and suppressing criticism of Hezbollah by its opponents.

It further stated that activities by these terrorists pose a threat to the country.

"ELIMINATED: Zakaria Yahya al-Hajj, a senior Hezbollah terrorist, was struck in the Jwaya area in southern Lebanon. As part of his role, he activated agents within Lebanon's security systems, and suppressed criticism by opponents of Hezbollah in Lebanon. The terrorist's activities constituted a threat to Israel and a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon," the IDF said in its post.

This comes after the Israeli military confirmed that two additional Hezbollah terrorists were eliminated in separate strikes carried out in different areas in southern Lebanon in less than an hour.

In a separate post, the IDF stated that in the Yater area, it killed a Hezbollah operative who was involved in attempts to re-establish the group's terrorist infrastructure.

In another strike in the Bint Jbeil area, Israeli forces eliminated a terrorist described as Hezbollah's local representative, who was responsible for liaising with residents and seizing private property for use in terror activities.

"Two Hezbollah terrorists in strikes in different areas in southern Lebanon within less than an hour. In the Yater area, the IDF eliminated a terrorist who took part in Hezbollah's attempts to reestablish its infrastructure. In the Bint Jbeil area, the IDF eliminated a terrorist who served as the local representative of Hezbollah, responsible for communication with the residents, and seized private assets for terror use," the post read.

These strikes by the IDF are part of a series of operations conducted against Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon.

The IDF further stated that it has killed around 40 terrorists operating to rebuild Hezbollah's infrastructure in approximately 30 different locations across southern Lebanon since the beginning of October.

Meanwhile, Israel accused Hezbollah of repeatedly breaching the ceasefire arrangement, claiming the group has violated the agreement more than 1,900 times.