Israeli army claims it captured Hezbollah Radwan Force fighters

BEIRUT — The Israeli army claimed Monday it captured fighters from Hezbollah’s Radwan Force, the group’s elite unit. This marks the first such announcement since its war in Lebanon began on March 2.

“The Israeli army has captured armed fighters from the Radwan Force in southern Lebanon,” claimed Avichay Adraee, the Israeli army’s Arabic‑language spokesperson. He accompanied his message with photos of two shirtless men with blurred faces, along with ammunition.

“During an operation carried out by Givati Brigade forces in southern Lebanon to locate military equipment, soldiers spotted several Hezbollah Radwan Force fighters who were preparing to fire an anti‑tank missile at troops,” Adraee said. “They had also set up a firing position and were planning to launch rockets toward northern localities. Shortly after being spotted, the forces arrested these fighters after they surrendered. The soldiers found in their possession a large number of weapons and military equipment. During the past night, the building from which they were operating was destroyed.”

In a second message on X, Adraee released a video of the strike on the building from which, according to him, “Radwan Force terrorists were operating in southern Lebanon.”

He added that, according to a “preliminary investigation conducted by investigators from Unit 504, these individuals came from the Bekaa region toward southern Lebanon.”

L’Orient‑Le Jour contacted Hezbollah’s press office, which did not respond to inquiries.

The Lebanese government, according to the military plan presented to the Cabinet in early September 2025, stated in January 2026 that it had dismantled Hezbollah’s infrastructure south of the Litani River, a region where the party cooperated but refused to discuss its arsenal beyond that point.

On Monday, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich called for annexing southern Lebanon up to the Litani River, claiming that the river should become Israel’s future border.