Return of Hezbollah? After gunshot hits car in Israeli border town, IDF strikes Hezbollah site in Lebanon

The Israeli Air Force conducted one of its largest strikes in Lebanon since the ceasefire began over two months ago, hitting a Hezbollah command center after a gunshot struck a car in the Israeli town of Avivim.

Earlier on Sunday, a gunshot hit a parked car near Avivim, narrowly missing the driver and without causing any injuries.

In response, Israel Defense Forces stated, “Any fire toward Israel from Lebanese territory constitutes a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”

Army Radio later cited military sources reporting that the shooting was carried out during a funeral for Hezbollah operatives in the town of Maroun a-Ras, near a new IDF outpost in Lebanese territory.

The incident caused outrage among local residents, many of whom are just now returning to their hometowns still devastated by months of incessant Hezbollah attacks.

Residents of Avivim welded shut their community’s entrance gates in an act of protest against the government.

Local council head, Amit Sofer, said the incident was “a red flag that cannot be ignored. The risk to lives is real.”

“I don’t understand how anyone can tell Avivim’s residents to return home when there’s no buffer zone to protect them. Now, with Hezbollah operatives back in the villages, it’s a complete Wild West,” he added.

Defense Minister Israel Katz stated, “The claim that this was a stray bullet from a funeral for a Hezbollah operative that was held in a nearby village is completely unacceptable.”

“We will not allow the reality of firing on the residents of the north for any reason and will respond to any violation of the ceasefire. Any threat and harm to the security of the residents of the north will be met with a severe response.”

In a first reaction, the IDF attacked targets in the nearby Lebanese village of Einata.

On Sunday evening, the IDF announced it had struck a command and control center of the Radwan Force, Hezbollah’s elite unit tasked with invading and capturing parts of the Israeli Galilee.

In addition, several other structures used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon were hit. According to additional reports from Lebanon, an IDF helicopter later attacked a target in the town of Yaroun.

“The presence of these terrorist infrastructure sites constitutes a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. The IDF will not allow this kind of activity and will act against it,” the military stated.

“The IDF will strike armed terrorists in southern Lebanon and will operate in order to remove any threat to the State of Israel.”

Under the terms of the ceasefire, Hezbollah is to completely vacate the area south of the Litani River. However, the IDF has retaliated against numerous ceasefire violations by the terror group in recent months.

Army Radio military correspondent Doron Kadosh noted, “Any presence of armed forces in southern Lebanon who are not from the Lebanese Army or UNIFIL is prohibited, and therefore it does not matter at all whether the shooting was directed at Israeli territory or was a shot in the air – the mere presence of armed forces at such a funeral, which is affiliated with Hezbollah, is a violation of the ceasefire agreement.”