Around 100 km into Lebanon, the IDF killed a Hezbollah leader.

Hezbollah fired dozens rockets at the Golan on Monday, a departure from the general focus of the group on northern Galilee.

The Lebanese terrorists group claimed that it had targeted an IDF Golan Base in retaliation to Israeli strikes near Baalbek. These strikes were unusually deep into Lebanon territory.

Baalbek, located in the northeast of Lebanon, is about 100 km from Israel’s border. Most IDF operations have focused on the southern part of Lebanon or Beirut which is much farther south.

No injuries reported

Hezbollah claimed to have launched a 60 rocket barrage. However, no injuries were reported.

Home Front Command recorded only 20 rocket sirens. This appears to be a way of ignoring much of the Golan Rocket Fire as it was not dangerous in this round.

The Golan is mostly quiet. Recently, militias affiliated with Iran from Syria have occasionally fired small amounts of rockets at the Golan. But the volume was nowhere near that on Monday from Hezbollah.

In a further round of retaliation the IDF said that it had killed Hassan Hussein Salami, a senior Hezbollah leader in an airstrike over southern Lebanon.

Salami was killed on his way to Majadel, a village in southern Lebanon. His rank is equivalent to that of brigade commander. It was one of those rare instances where the IDF took the credit for the murder.

Salami, according to the IDF commanded a regional unit of Hezbollah, which included managing attacks against IDF troops in northern Israel and Israeli communities, particularly Kiryat Schmona.

Salami, according to the report, was also involved in directing Hezbollah’s attack on Brigade 769 – an IDF base.

Salami’s involvement in the attacks on IDF base attacks was a factor that made it appear as if the IDF took public credit for this. The IDF tolerated Hezbollah’s attacks on evacuated villages less than they did on IDF bases.

The IDF, on the other hand, does not usually claim credit for specific assassinations or operations in Syria, even though it has admitted to attacking Iranian-affiliated Syrian targets thousands of times over the past few years.

Two security sources told Reuters that at least two simultaneous attacks occurred around the city of Baalbek in Lebanon.

Hezbollah fired a barrage rockets at Moshav Shtula, in the Galilee on Monday. One Israeli was injured.

Hezbollah announced earlier on Monday that it had downed an Israeli Hermes-450 drone in Lebanese airspace with a surface to air missile. This is the second time Hezbollah has announced a downing this type of unmanned aircraft vehicle (UAV).

Elbit Systems is an Israeli weapons manufacturer that makes the Hermes 450, a drone with multiple payloads.

Israeli military announced earlier Monday that two missiles were launched against an Israeli Air Force UAV flying over Lebanon. It said that the first missile was intercepted and destroyed by Israel’s David Sling aerial defence system. However, the drone fell into Lebanese soil after the second missile.

The IDF released a statement saying that the David’s Sling aerial defence system intercepted an air-to-air surface-to-air rocket fired at a UAV of the Israeli Air Force operating in Lebanon. “Sirens were heard in the northern Israel area of Alon Tavor after the launch of an interceptor.

There were no reported injuries.

Shortly afterward, a second missile was launched at the UAV and it fell into Lebanese soil.

Hezbollah shooting down the IDF drone seemed to be the trigger for the timing of IDF’s decision.

On Monday, Yoav Galant, the Defense Minister of Israel, said that residents who were evacuated from the north would not be allowed to return until Hamas’s hostages are returned.

He assured the families of the hostage-takers that Israel would do everything, both diplomatically and militarily, to return the approximately 100 hostages still alive, as well as the 30 or more bodies of the hostages killed.

His statement that residents of the north would have to wait until hostages were released before returning home was not unexpected in certain ways. It was also more explicit than usual in admitting that the threat of Hezbollah will not be neutralized for months, even if there is a temporary truce with Hamas.

Hezbollah said it would cease its attacks on Israel as soon as a ceasefire was reached with Hamas, which would stop Israel from initiating new military operations in Gaza.

Gallant, however, has repeatedly stated that the IDF would continue to attack Hezbollah up until its entire force was pushed from the border of Israel to a point approximately north of the Litani River.

Even the current possible hostage swap describes a 45-day initial period, followed by a longer time frame of months before completing a complete hostage exchange. This could easily extend the evacuation of residents in the north into the summer.

On Sunday, the government extended until July 7 special rights to northern evacuees.

The military announced that in the south, IDF Division 162, Nahal Brigade, and engineering forces unearthed a tunnel network underground that connects the northern and southern Gaza Strip.

The routes are underground for about 10 km. The underground routes pass beneath a hospital, and an university.

After taking control of the network’s operations, the soldiers examined it and destroyed large sections of it.

The IDF has been slowly destroying Hamas’ tunnel infrastructure. This is not the first time the IDF has found and destroyed a tunnel that extends north-south.

It will take many years to completely destroy the infrastructure.