Israel strikes Hezbollah target in Lebanon: IDF

Tel Aviv [Israel], December 15 : The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said that the air force struck a Hezbollah target in Lebanon amid the ongoing exchanges of gunfire between the two sides along the border, The Times of Israel reported. According to IDF, the Israeli soldiers conducted a strike on two gunmen near the border.
In a post shared on X, the IDF stated, "An Air Force aircraft attacked and destroyed a terrorist target of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Lebanese territory. In addition, a short time ago an Air Force aircraft was attacked by a terrorist operating in Lebanese territory near the Zerait area. Also, during the morning, IDF forces attacked two armed terrorists who were operating in Lebanese territory, near the Yaron area."
In another post on X, the Israel Air Force said that air defence fighters intercepted a suspicious aerial target from Lebanese territory before it crossed into Israeli territory on Friday.
Taking to X, Israel Air Force stated, "Air defense fighters successfully intercepted a suspicious aerial target from Lebanese territory before it crossed into Israeli territory, earlier today. Following the warnings in the north of the country, a number of launches were detected that crossed the territory of Lebanon towards different areas in the territory of the north of the country, some of which were intercepted according to policy."
Amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, the IDF said it has completed a series of airstrikes against sites used by Hamas' internal security on the Gaza-Egypt border, according to The Times of Israel report.
In a statement, the IDF said that the strikes conducted by fighter jets attacked helicopters and drones. It further said that the fighter jets targeted military compounds, guard posts, observation posts, weapons depots and command centres belonging to Hamas's internal security forces.
The IDF said, "The sites that were hit in the Rafah area, where Hamas terrorists operated, aided the smuggling efforts led by the Hamas terror organization and included weapons that endanger IDF soldiers operating in the Gaza Strip and the citizens of Israel," The Times of Israel report.
According to IDF, the strikes "deal a blow" to Hamas' ability to smuggle more weapons into the Gaza Strip. The IDF said Hamas' internal security apparatus "robs humanitarian resources entering the Gaza Strip, aids in the smuggling of additional weapons, and its operatives are complicit in Hamas's activities against IDF forces in the Gaza Strip, The Times of Israel reported.
Meanwhile, the IDF announced the death of a soldier during the fighting in the southern Gaza Strip, taking the death toll of slain troops in the ground offensive against Hamas to 118. The deceased soldier has been identified as Sgt First Class (reserved) Shay Uriel Pizem (23), a tank commander in the 401st Armored Brigade's 9th Battalion, from Ein HaNatziv.