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12 soldiers injured by Hezbollah drone in northern Israel; IDF strikes in Lebanon

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yesterday

Twelve soldiers were wounded in a Hezbollah drone attack on an artillery position near the northern Israel border community of Shomera, the Israel Defense Forces said Thursday, as a US-brokered ceasefire appeared to be falling apart with both sides firing at each other.

According to the IDF, two of the soldiers were moderately hurt, while the rest were in good condition.

Lebanon’s health ministry said Israeli strikes on south Lebanon killed nine people, including two children.

Sirens warning of a suspected drone attack from Lebanon had sounded in the border communities of Zarit, Adamit, Shomera and others, sending residents into shelters.

The Hezbollah drone launched from Lebanon struck a military cargo carrier, which caught fire. Several artillery shells in the area also exploded. The M548, known in the IDF as the Alfa, is used to transport artillery shells.

The military was investigating whether the drone was guided by a fiber optic cable, which is immune to electronic jamming. Hezbollah has been using fiber optic-guided drones in attacks on troops in southern Lebanon in recent weeks.

In three other incidents, IDF interceptor missiles were launched at suspected Hezbollah drones identified over areas of southern Lebanon where troops are deployed, the military said.

The IDF said most of the “suspicious aerial targets” were intercepted, while the results of others were still under review.

דיווח: נפילת כטב"ם זוהתה באזור שומרה – רכבים עלו באש@sharonknoblich pic.twitter.com/5aCHRoNjxm — החדשות – N12 (@N12News) April 30, 2026

דיווח: נפילת כטב"ם זוהתה באזור שומרה – רכבים עלו באש@sharonknoblich pic.twitter.com/5aCHRoNjxm

— החדשות – N12 (@N12News) April 30, 2026

Hezbollah took responsibility for the drone attack that impacted troops, claiming to have targeted an Israeli artillery site on the border.

In a statement, Hezbollah said it struck a self-propelled howitzer with an explosive-laden drone. The terror group also said it shot down an Israeli Hermes 450 drone over southern Lebanon, and the IDF confirmed one of its unmanned aerial vehicles was downed by a Hezbollah surface-to-air missile.

“There is no fear of information leaking,” the military said of the downed drone, adding that the incident was under further investigation.

The IDF later said it launched a wave of airstrikes against Hezbollah infrastructure sites across southern Lebanon.

No further details were immediately given, but the military issued an evacuation warning for several villages in southern Lebanon ahead of strikes on Hezbollah.

The warning was addressed to residents of Sammaaiyeh, Hanniyeh, Qlaileh, Wadi Jilou, Kniseh, Kafra, Majdal Zoun, and Seddiqin. They were called to evacuate to at least a kilometer away.

“Hezbollah activities are forcing the IDF to act against it, as it does not intend to harm you,” said army spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee.

The eight Lebanese communities are outside of the “buffer zone” in southern Lebanon that Israel established before the ceasefire that was announced earlier this month, which has failed to fully halt hostilities.

Strikes on three south Lebanon villages killed nine people, among them two children and five women, Lebanon’s health ministry said.

“Israeli enemy strikes on south Lebanon led, in an initial toll, to nine martyrs, among them two children and five women, and 23 wounded, among them eight children and seven women,” the ministry said in a statement.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun decried what he described as Israel’s continued violations of the ceasefire, calling for international pressure on Israel to stop strikes he said were hitting civilians and paramedics.

Aoun slammed the “continuing Israeli violations” in south Lebanon, saying they were occurring “despite the ceasefire, as do demolitions of homes and places of worship, while the number of killed and wounded rises day after day.”

“Pressure must be exerted on Israel to ensure it respects international laws and conventions and ceases targeting civilians, paramedics, civil defence, and humanitarian health and relief organisations,” he added in a statement.

Israel says it is acting in response to Hezbollah threats and violations of the truce.

Updating on recent operations, the IDF said it demolished several Hezbollah combat positions on the Lebanese side of the border-straddling Mount Dov during a recent raid.

The operation was led by the elite Alpinist Unit and Yahalom Combat Engineering Unit. The military said the forces located and demolished several Hezbollah combat positions, including rocket-launching posts.

Also, five Hezbollah operatives identified near Israeli forces in southern Lebanon the previous day were killed in airstrikes, the military said.

The IDF said the operatives were identified by troops of the 146th Division in the western sector of southern Lebanon, before being targeted by the Israeli Air Force.

Five Hezbollah operatives identified near Israeli forces in southern Lebanon yesterday were killed in airstrikes, the military says. The IDF says the operatives were identified by troops of the 146th Division in the western sector of southern Lebanon, before being targeted by… pic.twitter.com/kopDgNWaMU — Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 30, 2026

Five Hezbollah operatives identified near Israeli forces in southern Lebanon yesterday were killed in airstrikes, the military says.

The IDF says the operatives were identified by troops of the 146th Division in the western sector of southern Lebanon, before being targeted by… pic.twitter.com/kopDgNWaMU

— Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) April 30, 2026

Meanwhile, Hezbollah launched several explosive-laden drones at Israeli troops stationed in southern Lebanon in two incidents on Wednesday. The IDF said the drones struck near the forces but did not cause any injuries.

“These are further violations of the ceasefire understandings by the Hezbollah terror organization,” the military said.

The US-mediated ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, which started on April 17, was extended on April 24 for an additional three weeks, US President Donald Trump announced at the time. His announcement came as Israeli and Lebanese diplomats met for US-brokered talks. Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel can strike against immediate threats and in self-defense.

On Wednesday, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir said during a visit to troops posted in southern Lebanon that there “is no ceasefire.”

Zamir’s comments came amid a reported push from Jerusalem to get the US to limit its historic direct talks with the Lebanese government to a two-week timeframe, and to sign off on a large-scale IDF campaign against Hezbollah if the talks fail.

Fighting erupted when Hezbollah began attacking across the border after Israel and the US launched their joint campaign against Iran on February 28 in a bid to destabilize the regime and destroy its nuclear and ballistic missile capacities. Israel launched massive airstrikes in Lebanon in response to the Hezbollah terror group’s rocket barrages.

Despite the ceasefire, Hezbollah has fired rockets at northern Israeli communities, though most attacks have been on troops in southern Lebanon or on the Israeli side of the border.

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