IDF Levels Hezbollah Stronghold in Bani Hayan With Massive Blast

Newly released aerial footage shows the moment Israeli forces carried out a large-scale controlled demolition of Hezbollah assets in the village of Bani Hayan, in the Nabatieh-Tebnin area of southern Lebanon. The video captures a rapid series of massive explosions and towering smoke plumes rising over the village as the IDF continued its campaign to dismantle Hezbollah's military infrastructure inside the security zone it maintains along the border. The operation is the latest in a string of demolitions across the region this year, following earlier destruction of Hezbollah tunnel networks near Majdal Zoun, Beaufort Ridge, and Qantara, where Israeli forces have used hundreds of tons of explosives to collapse underground facilities built to threaten Israeli communities.

The demolition comes just hours after a serious Hezbollah ceasefire violation early Saturday, when an explosive drone struck near Israeli troops of the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit close to the Ali Taher ridge, seriously wounding an officer and two soldiers. The IDF responded with a wave of strikes across southern Lebanon, killing Radwan Force battalion commander Ali Samir Al-Haj Hassan along with several other operatives, while Lebanese health officials reported at least 11 people killed and 19 wounded in the retaliatory strikes on Nabatieh and Ansar. The back-to-back incidents underscore how fragile the ceasefire in Lebanon remains, with Hezbollah continuing to probe Israeli lines even as the IDF presses ahead with its campaign to strip the terror group of its remaining capabilities.

Israeli officials maintain that despite the ceasefire framework brokered earlier this year, the IDF will not stand down while Hezbollah rebuilds its arsenal or targets Israeli soldiers, and that troops will remain in the security zone until the group is fully disarmed. The Bani Hayan demolition, like dozens of others carried out across Nabatieh and Bint Jbeil districts in recent months, reflects a broader Israeli strategy of denying Hezbollah any staging ground near the border, even as it draws sharp criticism from Lebanese officials and residents who say the destruction is reshaping entire towns. With ceasefire violations mounting on both sides, few expect the current lull in fighting to hold without further escalation.