Hezbollah fighters ‘all ran away,’ captured fighter admits; IDF chief Halevi says group tries to hide its losses

Most Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon fled before the Israeli advance, according to one of the first Hezbollah fighters captured in the area.

In video footage of the interrogation released by the IDF, the captured terrorist, Waddah Kamel Younis, told IDF’s Unit 504 investigators he was captured in an underground compound, after his comrades, including field commanders, fled during the preceding days, leaving him alone in the tunnel.

“Tell me about the Radwan Force – why did they flee?” one interrogator asked Younis. “In Hezbollah’s language? Lack of faith,” Younis explained. “It’s a person who comes to receive money and that’s it.”

During the fighting in southern Lebanon, Israeli forces have so far captured 10 Hezbollah fighters, including 3 belonging to Hezbollah's elite Radwan Force, Kan News reported on Wednesday.

The Radwan Force had planned to invade northern Israel in the case of an Israeli ground offensive, Younis said. However, “since the assassination of Sayyed Hassan [Nasrallah], no one has seen any of them,” Younis added.

“Hezbollah is hiding its casualties while fabricating losses on our side, there is a gap that shows the organization is in a difficult situation,” IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Herzi Halevi said during a security briefing on Tuesday.

“We need to widen this gap, protect our forces, strike their operatives and apply more pressure as Hezbollah faces growing distress.”

כוחות אוגדה 91 ממשיכים לפעול נגד תשתיות טרור של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה בדרום לבנון.
הכוחות פשטו בימים האחרונים על מערכת פירים ותשתיות תת-קרקעיות, שכללו מרחבי שהייה והצטיידות, ואיתרו בהם אמצעי לחימה רבים>> pic.twitter.com/Eucq9ziBCm

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 16, 2024

On Wednesday, the IDF said forces of the 91st Division located and destroyed a massive underground command center of the Radwan Force, which included living spaces, and weapons storehouses.

“This infrastructure was intended to be used by Hezbollah’s ‘Radwan’ unit on command as part of the plan to ‘occupy the Galilee.’ The route of the infrastructure is located in the heart of a village, under houses of Lebanese citizens that were used by Hezbollah terrorists, making cynical use of civilian facilities in southern Lebanon,” the IDF stated.

Before it was destroyed, IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Amir Baram visited the structure after a situation assessment with the commander of the 91st Division, Lt.-Col. Shay Kleper and other generals.

“For years, the 91st Division and the Northern Command prepared for defense and containment against what Hezbollah called the ‘occupation of the Galilee.’ It inspires strength and pride that we are now fighting in the territory from which they planned to attack us – destroying their infrastructure and plans. This is how it has to be done, there is no other way,” said Baram.

Soldiers of the 8th Brigade and the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit destroyed the complex, which was located under the village of Mhaibib, roughly 2 km (1.2 miles) from Israel's border with Lebanon.

כוחות אוגדה 98 ממשיכים בפעילותם בדרום לבנון. הלוחמים חיסלו מחבלים רבים על הקרקע ומהאויר, וממשיכים לאתר ולהשמיד אמצעי לחימה ותשתיות טרור של חיזבאללה מעל ומתחת לקרקע>> pic.twitter.com/mzJvYDjItE

— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) October 16, 2024

In another sector, soldiers of the IDF's 98th Commando Division killed dozens of terrorists in fire exchanges and airstrikes. They also located and destroyed weapons and Hezbollah military infrastructure above and below ground.

The IDF reported that over 140 targets were struck from the air at more than 50 sites across Lebanon, including munitions warehouses, rocket and missile launchers, military buildings and terrorist squads.

Early on Wednesday, the IDF confirmed it had struck a target in Beirut for the first time in six days.

The airstrike hit an underground warehouse in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district, containing “strategic weapons.”

“Before the attack, many steps were taken to reduce the chance of harming civilians, including advance warnings to the population in the area,” the IDF said.

Over the past few days, Israeli media have reported that the Israeli government ordered the IDF not to attack Beirut following a request by the Biden administration.

However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected those reports, stating: “We will continue to hit Hezbollah mercilessly in all parts of Lebanon – also in Beirut.”