Jerusalem, 30 April, 2026 (TPS-IL) — At least 12 soldiers were injured on Thursday morning when a Hezbollah explosive-laden drone struck a military position near the northern Israeli community of Shomera, the Israel Defense Forces said.
The drone, launched from Lebanon, hit an armored cargo carrier, which caught fire. Secondary explosions were triggered when nearby artillery shells detonated, the IDF said. Two of the soldiers were moderately wounded, while the remaining troops sustained light injuries.
The military is investigating whether the unmanned aerial vehicle was guided using a fiber-optic cable, a method that allows control without reliance on radio frequencies and is resistant to electronic jamming. In recent weeks, the Iran-backed Hezbollah has increasingly used fiber-optic guided drones in attacks.
In a separate incident the same morning, Hezbollah fired a surface-to-air missile at an Israeli Air Force drone, bringing it down over Southern Lebanon. The IDF said the matter is under investigation and stressed that “there is no fear of information leaking,” while Hezbollah later claimed responsibility for downing a Hermes 450 UAV in the Nabatieh area.
The IDF also reported that interceptor systems were launched at several suspicious aerial targets detected over southern Lebanon, with most of the incoming drones successfully intercepted.
Israeli Forces simultaneously carried out strikes in southern Lebanon, with Lebanese reports describing airstrikes, artillery fire, and drone attacks on multiple villages.
The IDF also confirmed that five Hezbollah operatives were killed a day earlier while operating near Israeli forces amid ongoing cross-border exchanges of fire.
Separately, elite forces from the Alpinist Unit and the Yahalom Combat Engineering Unit conducted a targeted raid on Hezbollah infrastructure in the Mount Dov area, near the Israeli-Lebanese and Syrian borders. Forces destroyed rocket launching posts and other combat positions.
Ahead of further strikes, IDF Arabic-language spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee issued evacuation warnings to residents in several southern Lebanese villages, including Sammaaiyeh, Hanniyeh, Qlaileh, Wadi Jilou, Kniseh, Kafra, Majdal Zoun, and Seddiqin, instructing civilians to move at least one kilometer away.