The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated on Saturday that it was continuing to carry out widespread attacks on terrorist targets in southern Lebanon for a second day after detecting preparations for attacks on Israeli territory. 

“Dozens of Israeli Air Force aircraft are currently targeting and destroying rocket launchers to eliminate the threat to Israeli civilians,” IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in a press briefing on Saturday. 

These strikes have resulted in the deaths of at least two senior Hezbollah commanders and more than a dozen members of the group. 

“We are methodically targeting and weakening Hezbollah’s launch capabilities, eliminating commanders and terrorists, as we did throughout the day,” Hagari said. “Overall, today we struck approximately 400 Hezbollah launchers, including thousands of rocket launcher barrels.”

Hagari advised Israelis: “Rockets and other threats may be launched toward Israeli territory in the near future. We urge you to strictly follow the Home Front Command’s defensive guidelines. We are in the midst of a period of warfare, so it is important to remain vigilant and alert.”

 

On Friday, he announced that the IDF had killed Ibrahim Aqil, head of Hezbollah’s Operations Unit, along with 15 commanders of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan Unit.

Ahmed Wahbi, who was in charge of military operations for Hezbollah’s Radwan special forces unit until early 2024, was also killed in the attack. 

“They met to plan terror attacks and infiltrations into Israeli territory, but we knew where they were, and preempted them – eliminating them in a precise and powerful operation conducted by the Intelligence Directorate and the Israeli Air Force,” Hagari said. 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also called for an emergency meeting of the special Security Cabinet on Saturday night at the IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv to discuss the situation.

On Saturday, the State Department also issued an advisory, urging Americans to leave Lebanon “while commercial options are still available.” 

“At this time, commercial flights are available, but at reduced capacity. If the security situation deteriorates, commercial options to depart may become unavailable,” the “Do Not Travel” advisory for Lebanon said. “The U.S. Embassy may not be able to assist U.S. citizens who choose to remain.”

The IDF stated that approximately 290 targets were hit in Lebanon over the past day, including thousands of “launcher barrels and additional terrorist infrastructure.” 

Digital’s Ben Evansky contributed to this report.