IDF expands Lebanon airstrikes and ground operations

By Seth Frantzman | November 18, 2024

A rocket launcher found in southern Lebanon by the IDF’s 226th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade. (IDF photo)

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) expanded operations in Lebanon, increasing precision strikes in Beirut targeting Hezbollah members and widening its ground offensive. The two-pronged effort comes as discussions about a potential ceasefire continue. Hezbollah also continued launching rockets at Israel, killing one civilian and wounding others on November 18.

On November 18, the IDF announced that it eliminated Mohammad Afif, Hezbollah’s spokesperson, in a strike on November 17 in central Beirut. Afif is one of the highest-profile Hezbollah members to be killed recently. The IDF had appeared to shift from eliminating top Hezbollah leaders after recent strikes took out a large chunk of the group’s commanders. For instance, Israel killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in September, and his successor, Hashem Safieddin, was killed in October.

Israel has increased airstrikes on Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital in the last week. More than 50 targets were hit from November 9 to 16 in four “rounds” of attacks, according to the IDF. The airstrikes have expanded outside of the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahieh, and the IDF has conducted some of them without telling civilians to evacuate the area. These types of strikes appear to target high-value individuals, such as Afif, or other targets that might move if public warnings were issued. One reporter in Beirut who has documented the strikes since the beginning of Israel’s operations in September characterized the latest wave in the past two days as a new “phase.”

The IDF also continued hitting Hezbollah’s terrorist infrastructure in Beirut while issuing evacuations prior to these operations. For instance, one series of strikes on November 17 hit “six Hezbollah military targets in the Dahieh area, a key Hezbollah terrorist stronghold in Beirut. The targets include Hezbollah weapons storage facilities, command centers, and additional military infrastructure,” according to the IDF.

On the ground in southern Lebanon, the IDF expanded some operations and involved several additional units. The Haruv Reconnaissance Unit is operating under the 228^th Brigade, the IDF said. This unit, which is battalion-sized but works in small teams specializing in urban combat, has been part of the Kfir Brigade since 2017. The Kfir Brigade is currently fighting in northern Gaza, and Haruv teams have fought in Gaza and the West Bank. The IDF characterizes the unit’s work in Lebanon as similar to operations by the rest of its forces: “conducting limited, localized, targeted raids based on precise intelligence.” The reconnaissance unit raided several unnamed villages and found weapons and a tunnel. One of the sites appears to be near Aitaroun in southeastern Lebanon.

In another sector, the 226^th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade has also entered Lebanon under the command of the 146^th Division. “During the raids, the troops scanned mountainous areas where Hezbollah concealed dozens of its combat compounds both above and below ground. The troops also located multi-barrel launchers, mortars, rocket caches, and military equipment used in Hezbollah’s attacks against Israel over the past year,” the IDF said. The rocket launchers appeared ready to fire.

Footage distributed by the IDF appears to show the 226^th Reserve Paratroopers Brigade operating in hills north of the Israeli community of Hanita. Social media accounts and local reporters in Lebanon who track the war have speculated the IDF is expanding operations in this sector near villages such as Aalma el Chaeb and Chamaa. These communities are on two roads that lead to the coast and Naqoura and Iskandarouneh, respectively.

The IDF has also moved artillery into Lebanon for the first time since the war began. Artillery units of the 282^nd Brigade, usually based in the north to support the 36^th Division, use M109  155 mm howitzers and possess other capabilities. These mobile howitzers have a range of between 15-20 miles, indicating that moving artillery into Lebanon provides coverage for units operating near the border and potentially further inland. Along with the guns, the IDF’s Sky Rider Unit, which uses drones to aid artillery and other units, is also operating for the first time in Lebanon, the IDF said.

Hezbollah escalated its rocket fire at northern Israel on November 18, launching several large attacks of dozens of rockets. One barrage that hit the town of Shfaram killed one civilian and wounded 10. In the evening, the group fired a long-range rocket toward Tel Aviv. It was intercepted, but shrapnel fell in a suburb, wounding several people and causing a fire.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of Mohammad Afif, Hezbollah’s deceased spokesperson, as “Atif.”

Reporting from Israel, Seth J. Frantzman is an adjunct fellow at FDD and a contributor to FDD’s Long War Journal. He is the senior Middle East correspondent and analyst at The Jerusalem Post, and author of The October 7 War: Israel’s Battle for Security in Gaza (2024).