Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah and Lebanon (March 16-23, 2026)
IDF forces in Lebanon continued from the air and eliminated terrorist commanders and operatives, including the commander of the Radwan special forces, and operatives linked to Iran and to Palestinian terrorist organizations operating in Lebanon. IDF ground forces in south Lebanon continued locating and destroying weapons and terrorist infrastructure and assets attacking Hezbollah targets; Hezbollah issued more than 280 claims of responsibility for attacks on civilian, military and security targets in Israel and on IDF forces in south Lebanon using rockets, missiles and UAVs. The IDF reported that Hezbollah launched a ballistic missile which fell in the northern Gaza Strip, but no claim of responsibility was made.
Hezbollah secretary general Na'im Qassem said he was confident the organization would stop the "aggression," force Israel to withdraw and release the Lebanese prisoners, and return the displaced persons to their homes. Hezbollah official admitted they had exercised restraint in the face of Israeli strikes for 15 months in order to rebuild Hezbollah's military capabilities; Hezbollah sharpened its rhetoric toward the Lebanese government following the ban on the organization's military activity, with implicit threats to take action against it after the war; Hezbollah terrorist cells were exposed in the UAE and Kuwait; the organization denied involvement; Lebanese president Joseph Aoun continued efforts to advance his initiative for direct talks with Israel, however, Nabih Berri, speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, opposed appointing a Shi'ite representative to the delegation before a ceasefire and demanded the talks be conducted under the supervision mechanism for implementing the ceasefire agreement; Lebanese prime minister Nawaf Salam accused Hezbollah of dragging the country back into war to assist Iran and avenge the killing of Khamenei. He said he did not want a confrontation with Hezbollah, but was not prepared to submit to extortion; The Lebanese Ministry of Health reported that more than 1,000 people had been killed since the beginning of the fighting.
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