The Israeli Army announced this Thursday that it has taken "operational control" of the northern area of the Wadi Saluki valley, in southern Lebanon. It is an enclave that Israel considers key from a military point of view and which, according to its authorities, is used by the Shiite formation Hezbollah for launching projectiles from Lebanese territory.
"Operational control of the northern area of the Saluki valley has been achieved. The terrorist organization Hezbollah uses the Saluki valley area to launch explosive drones and projectiles against the forces of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operating in the area," the Arabic-speaking spokesperson for the Israeli Army, Avichai Adrai, indicated on his social networks.
In the same statement, the spokesperson pointed out that the units deployed on the ground have destroyed "hundreds of terrorist infrastructures," killed more than 50 combatants, and located various war materials, including "explosive devices, anti-tank missiles, and anti-tank missile launch platforms."
The Wadi Saluki valley is located between three towns in the districts of Marjayoun and Bint Jbeil and acts as a corridor of great strategic value. Its orography makes it a particularly suitable point for organizing ambushes, as recalled by the Lebanese newspaper 'L'Orient-Le Jour'.
Last week, the governments of Israel and Lebanon reached an understanding on a mechanism to implement a ceasefire, conditioned on Hezbollah ceasing its attacks and withdrawing to the north of the Litani River. However, the Shiite group has rejected this withdrawal, considering that the agreement does not include the withdrawal of Israeli troops nor does it establish guarantees for its compliance.
The most recent large-scale hostilities were triggered on March 2, when Hezbollah fired projectiles into Israeli territory in retaliation for the assassination of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during the offensive launched on February 28 by Israel and the United States against the Asian country. Since then, Israeli bombings have caused the deaths of more than 3,600 people in Lebanon.
Both parties had agreed to a ceasefire in November 2024, after thirteen months of clashes linked to the October 7, 2023 attacks. However, after that pact, Israel continued to carry out bombings recurrently on Lebanese territory and maintained military forces at various points, alleging that its operations were directed against Hezbollah, while Beirut and the organization itself denounced these actions.