Israeli soldiers walk next to military vehicles on the Israeli side of the Israel-Lebanon border, amid escalation between Hezbollah and Israel, and amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in northern Israel, March 16, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Avi Ohayon

Israel on Sunday night intercepted a Hezbollah operation in southern Lebanon, targeting a terrorist cell disguised as paramedics who tried to transport weapons in an ambulance toward Israeli forces.

The Israeli strike further exposed the Iran-backed Lebanese terrorist group’s use of civilians and even medical vehicles as cover for attacks.

According to Israeli intelligence, Hezbollah has fired thousands of drones and rockets toward the Jewish state since joining the war in support of Iran earlier this month, brazenly using ambulances and medical facilities as cover and embedding their weapons and operation hubs in various civilian sites.

“This incident is another example of Hezbollah’s cynical and systematic use of medical infrastructure for military purposes,” the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement.

Last week, Israel discovered a tunnel used by Hezbollah in a church in southern Lebanon, where the terrorist group has spent years building infrastructure to attack the Jewish state.

Hezbollah tunnel at a church in southern Lebanon https://t.co/5mTGP7uSvz

— Matthew Levitt (@Levitt_Matt) March 27, 2026

Under international law, deliberately using medical teams and ambulances to conceal military activity constitutes a serious violation, as battlefield protections for medical personnel apply only when they act strictly within their humanitarian role.

As the conflict in Lebanon continues to escalate, Israeli officials have repeatedly warned that once ambulances and medical teams become part of Hezbollah’s weapons transport network, they lose their protected status and become legitimate military targets.

On Monday, the IDF destroyed more than 100 high-rise towers in southern Lebanon serving as Hezbollah’s command, control, and attack-planning centers against Israeli citizens – in what officials described as the terrorist group’s “cynical exploitation of Lebanese citizens,” embedding military infrastructure amid civilian areas.

PHOTOS: Israeli soldiers discover Hezbollah weapons cache—including RPGs, mortars, hand grenades, launchers, land mines, explosive bricks, and rifles—in southern Lebanon school. (IDF) pic.twitter.com/2HIpFtPLTQ

— Avi Mayer אבי מאיר (@AviMayer) March 27, 2026

With a ground maneuver underway to expand a defensive zone in southern Lebanon, the IDF says it has eliminated over 850 Hezbollah terrorists so far, while continuing to dismantle the group’s command and weapons infrastructure.

Last week, Israeli forces ordered the evacuation of the southern Lebanese city of Tyre, after identifying Hezbollah operatives launching heavy rocket fire from residential neighborhoods, issuing the order ahead of airstrikes to safeguard civilians from the escalating attacks.

“Hezbollah, which has dragged you into this war in service of Iran’s agenda, is deliberately operating within your neighborhoods, putting your safety at grave risk and bringing destruction to your homes and communities,” the military’s Arabic spokesperson, Col. (res.) Avichay Adraee wrote in a post on X, appealing to Lebanese citizens.

For years, Hezbollah has embedded command posts, weapons depots, snipers, and troops within Shiite villages, situating them in the heart of civilian centers near schools, hospitals, mosques, and main roads to turn entire communities into battlefields.

“We found them hiding weapons in a children’s school. We found them building a tunnel in the complex of a church in al-Kiam,” IDF International Spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said during a briefing to journalists.

In recent weeks, Israel has intensified strikes targeting Hezbollah, particularly south of the Litani River, where the group’s operatives have historically been most active against the Jewish state.

Israel has long demanded that Hezbollah be barred from carrying out activities south of the Litani, located roughly 15 miles from the Israeli border.

The IDF is now moving into Lebanon to establish what officials described as a “forward defensive line,” targeting Hezbollah infrastructure and destroying buildings that were being used as operational “terrorist outposts.”

As reports surfaced of potential ceasefire talks between Lebanese and Israeli officials, Hezbollah Secretary General Naim Qassem warned Wednesday that negotiating under fire amounts to imposed surrender, adding that his fighters are prepared to continue operations “without limits.”

In just the first month of the conflict, Israeli officials report that Hezbollah has carried out more than 900 coordinated attacks, marking a sharp increase in cross-border activity and a broader expansion of its operations across the region.

So far, Israel has demolished five bridges in the Litani River area and taken effective control of three others, aiming to dominate the area from the air and prevent residents from returning south of the river until the threat of Hezbollah is removed.