Israeli strike on Hezbollah more devastating than 2024 pager attack, IDF says

Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group, saw its bid operation crossed Lebanon travel nether what Israeli officials described arsenic 1 of the astir devastating blows of the warfare April 8.

Nearly simultaneously, explosions tore done Beirut, Lebanon, the Beqaa Valley and confederate Lebanon arsenic astir 50 Israeli craft struck much than 100 Hezbollah targets.

The targets were not rocket launchers oregon weapons depots, according to Israel Defense Forces (IDF), but the nervus centers of the organization: bid rooms, quality office and offices wherever Hezbollah commanders planned the adjacent signifier of the fight.

The onslaught marked a caller signifier successful the warfare betwixt Israel and Hezbollah, which erupted March 2 aft Hezbollah entered the struggle successful enactment of Iran — 1 time aft U.S. and Israeli strikes connected Iran and the sidesplitting of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Since then, Hezbollah has fired rockets, drones and anti-tank missiles into bluish Israel, portion Israel has responded with widening airstrikes and a crushed violative wrong confederate Lebanon.

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Smoke rises aft Israeli strikes successful Lebanon, pursuing an escalation betwixt Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli struggle with Iran, arsenic seen from Marjayoun, Lebanon, March 5, 2026. (Karamallah Daher/Reuters)

"Within lone a minute, the IDF eliminated 250 Hezbollah terrorists successful 3 areas simultaneously," the Israeli subject said successful a statement, adding that the appraisal is inactive ongoing. 

IDF spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani told Fox News Digital the onslaught was the effect of weeks of quality work.

Israeli quality agencies tracked Hezbollah operatives arsenic they moved betwixt apartments, offices and harmless houses crossed Lebanon.

"The timing had to bash with the preparations," Shoshani said. "There was weeks of astonishing intelligence."

Asked whether the cognition showed Israel inactive has heavy penetration wrong Hezbollah contempt months of war, Shoshani pointed to the standard of the attack.

"The information that we were capable to find 250 terrorists hiding successful antithetic locations successful Lebanon, galore of them successful locations for caller weeks, eliminating them successful existent time, I deliberation the capabilities talk for themselves," helium said.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun condemned Wednesday's strikes.

"The standard of the sidesplitting and demolition successful Lebanon contiguous is thing abbreviated of horrific," said United Nations Human Rights Chief Volker Türk. "Such carnage, wrong hours of agreeing to a ceasefire with Iran, defies belief."

Hezbollah said the time aft the onslaught that it fired rockets astatine Israel, "This effect volition proceed until the Israeli-American aggression against our state and our radical ceases," the radical said successful a statement.

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An detonation erupts from a gathering pursuing an Israeli onslaught successful cardinal Beirut, Lebanon, Wednesday, March 18, 2026. (Hussein Malla/AP)

The onslaught drew a examination to the "beeper" cognition successful September 2024, erstwhile thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies utilized by Hezbollah operatives exploded astir simultaneously crossed Lebanon and Syria successful an cognition wide attributed to Israel.

The blasts killed much than 40 radical and wounded astir 4,000, according to Lebanese authorities, portion Hezbollah aboriginal acknowledged that astir 1,500 fighters were taken retired of action. The cognition shattered Hezbollah's communications web and became the benchmark successful Israel for a onslaught that fundamentally changed the battlefield.

"The beeper had much of an effectual injuries that was the intent of it," Shoshani said. "But some targeted hundreds of terrorists, and wrong 60 seconds."

Like the beeper operation, helium said, the April 8 onslaught was intended not conscionable to termination operatives but to propulsion Hezbollah into disarray.

"It was important to the facet of creating disarray, of breaking their concatenation of command, breaking their bid and patrol capabilities, and benignant of tilting the enactment retired of balance," helium said.

A erstwhile Israeli quality official, speaking connected background, said the onslaught whitethorn not person reached the level of the beeper operation, but appeared to deed an unusually wide furniture of Hezbollah's mediate ranks. 

Hezbollah remains successful daze from the blow, according to the erstwhile official, adjacent if that has not yet been reflected successful a driblet successful its rocket fire.

But helium cautioned against judging the cognition lone by the fig of radical killed.

The existent measure, helium said, is whether the onslaught changes the people of the warfare and leaves Hezbollah little capable to operate.

The IDF said galore of those killed belonged to Hezbollah's Radwan Force — Hezbollah's most susceptible and best-trained combat unit, quality apparatus, rocket units and aerial Unit 127. 

The Israeli subject said astir of the targets were embedded wrong civilian areas.

"Most of the infrastructure that was struck was located wrong the bosom of the civilian population," the IDF said.

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The Israeli subject said astir of the targets were embedded wrong civilian areas. (Fadel Itani/AFP)

Shoshani said Israel warned civilians to evacuate earlier the strikes, but Hezbollah moved its operatives into caller civilian locations.

"When we gave the warnings for areas, civilians moved out, past Hezbollah saw that they moved retired and started hiding down civilians successful caller locations," helium said.

Despite the blow, Israeli officials accidental Hezbollah remains a large threat. Shoshani said the group, which earlier the warfare possessed betwixt 150,000 and 200,000 rockets and missiles, inactive has the quality to occurrence into Israel.

"They inactive are a existent menace for our civilians," helium said.

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Smoke billows pursuing strikes connected Beirut's confederate suburbs, pursuing an escalation betwixt Hezbollah and Israel amid the U.S.-Israeli struggle with Iran, arsenic seen from Baabda, Lebanon, March 5, 2026. (Mohamed Azakir/Reuters)

The onslaught comes arsenic Israel and Lebanon opened their archetypal nonstop talks successful much than 3 decades astatine the U.S. State Department successful Washington. 

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has signaled willingness to sermon normalization and the eventual disarmament of Hezbollah, portion Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted determination volition beryllium nary ceasefire until Hezbollah is dismantled and pushed backmost from the border.

Within hours of the diplomatic opening, Israeli warplanes again struck Lebanon and Hezbollah fired rockets into bluish Israel.

Reuters contributed to this report.