IDF has confiscated 10,000 Hezbollah weapons across 16 districts of southern Lebanon

Three weeks into the ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, the IDF said it had confiscated over 10,000 Hezbollah weapons across its southern region.

By YONAH JEREMY BOB DECEMBER 15, 2024 18:00

Soldiers from the IDF's 98th Division operate in southern Lebanon, December 15, 2024. (photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

Ten weeks into the invasion of Lebanon and about three weeks into the ceasefire, the IDF said on Sunday that it has confiscated over 10,000 Hezbollah weapons in a large number of different districts of southern Lebanon.

More specifically, IDF Division 91 has operated in more than 10 different districts, while Division 98 has operated in at least six – though there probably was also some overlap between the two divisions.

Division 91 reached all the way to the Litani River and the Saluki parts of southern Lebanon which are deeper into the country.

Some of the areas Division 98 operated in which were Khiam, Al-Adaysseh, Rab Al-Tlatin, Marjayoun, Al-Taybeh, and Al-Khiam.

In addition, Division 91 said it had destroyed 1,000 Hezbollah sites, while Division 98 said it had destroyed more than 300.

Hezbollah weapons and equipment seized by IDF soldiers during extensive operations in southern Lebanon. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

While Division 98 was the first IDF division to enter Lebanon and handled some of the toughest initial fighting in light of its status as a de facto special forces division, it eventually handed off much of the rest of the operation to Divisions 91, 36, and 146.

On October 8, the Jerusalem Post embedded with Division 91 Commander Brig.-Gen. Shai Kleper, along with a small number of other Israeli media outlets and he said, “We are standing in one of the battle areas on the Lebanese front. We are acting to harm, neutralize, and destroy Radwan operatives and their attack plan in terms of their capabilities and infrastructure.”

Radwan forces store military equipment in civilian homes

“We are in a weapons storage area for Radwan [inside a village civilian house]. You can see hundreds of vests, mortars, mines… all the weapons they need. An operative could show up here in jeans and sandals, receive all of his war supplies, a map, and a plan of attack for which he was pre-trained,” he continued.

Other key commanders have been Brig.-Gen. Guy Levi of Division 98, Brig.-Gen. Moran Omer’s of Division 36, and Brig.-Gen. Yiftach Norkin of Division 146.

In recent weeks, Division 98 zoned in on Al-Khiam, which had become a central Hezbollah stronghold for firing thousands of rockets at Israel prior to the November 26 ceasefire.

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At the end of last week, the IDF started to withdraw from portions of southern Lebanon as part of its commitment to a full withdrawal by around January 26.

To date, though the IDF has killed more than 25 Hezbollah fighters who it said were trying to sneak into southern Lebanon or prepare to carry out other ceasefire violations, mostly Hezbollah has respected the ceasefire.

Prior to November 26, Hezbollah was firing around 100-250 rockets a day on around one-third of the country, including the very populous Haifa region.