Al Mayadeen breaks down Hezbollah's Merkava massacre in south Lebanon
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Over the past few days, Hezbollah has been able to shatter the occupation's claims of capturing Lebanese territory, destroying Israeli assets on Lebanese soil.
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An injured Hezbollah Resistance fighter carries out his duties in an undisclosed location in Lebanon in an undated photo (Islamic Resistance in Lebanon/Military Media)
The Islamic Resistance in Lebanon - Hezbollah executed a wide-scale entrapment operation against Israeli military vehicles, resulting in the complete destruction of five Merkava tanks in the eastern vicinity of al-Bayyada, while simultaneously engaging in fierce confrontations against the Israeli occupation forces in the western axis of al-Bayyada and Chamaa, an Al Mayadeen correspondent in South Lebanon reported Monday amid Operation People of Might.
In detail, the correspondent specified that the operation began on November 23 at 9:30 pm (al-Quds and Beirut time), when Resistance fighters launched an offensive against an IOF assembly point near the northeastern outskirts of al-Bayyada, engaging its soldiers with machine guns and ATGMs, inflicting heavy losses among their ranks between killed and wounded, and destroying one of their Merkava tanks.
Following the operation, the Israeli occupation forces called for military reinforcement on Saturday night, deploying multiple tanks in the area, until Sunday evening. During that period, Hezbollah intentionally allowed over 30 Israeli military vehicles to advance toward al-Bayyada. At 4:30 pm on Sunday, Hezbollah targeted a Merkava tank on the eastern outskirts of the town, destroying it and killing and wounding its crew.
Following the targeting of the first Merkava, Hezbollah waited for about fifteen minutes until three others advanced, only to bombard them with ATGMs, destroying them, and killing and wounding their crews. Half an hour later, Hezbollah targeted a fifth Merkava tank advancing to retrieve the destroyed ones, wrecking it as well, and killing and wounding its crew.
The Merkava Massacre was thus completed after Hezbollah successfully destroyed five tanks in only 45 minutes, which prompted the rest of the deployed ones to withdraw toward the Lebanese-Palestinian border.
Hezbollah proved through fire the nature and characteristics of "soft defense", according to our correspondent, which is sometimes employed to delude the enemy into believing the Resistance has sustained geographic losses, only to pounce into its war scheme, lure the enemy's vehicles and soldiers, and inflict as many losses as possible among its ranks.
During its ruse, Hezbollah also deployed a swarm of assault drones, targeting Israeli soldiers in the southern town of Chamaa.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that Hezbollah successfully destroyed six Israeli Merkava tanks in southern #Lebanon today.
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) November 24, 2024
The Islamic Resistance confirmed that at 4:45 PM, its fighters targeted a Merkava tank with a guided missile on the Lubya hill, near the western… pic.twitter.com/1snHoIdYI4
Seven Israeli gatherings targeted in Khiam
In the eastern sector, where the battle in Khiam continues for the eighth consecutive day, Hezbollah targeted seven Israeli military groupings around the city. Five were located to the east of the city, while two were to the south. The operation employed rocket barrages and kamikaze drones.
Simultaneously, Hezbollah targeted Israeli military gatherings in Metula, as well as an Israeli operations room in the settlement that manages the battles in the eastern sector of southern Lebanon.
On the western outskirts of the town of Deir Mimas, Hezbollah struck a Merkava tank on the Loubieh Hill with a guided missile. Subsequently, it targeted an Israeli force advancing to recover the destroyed tank, inflicting casualties. Hezbollah also targeted two military gatherings at the Deir Mimas-Kfar Kila triangle.
Meanwhile, Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in the south reported that Israeli occupation forces relocated their vehicles from the western and central areas of Deir Mimas to its eastern outskirts.
One missile launch from Aita al-Shaab shattered 'Israel's' lies
In the Western sector, the extensive Israeli military and media effort focusing on Aita al-Shaab since the start of the ground invasion has been evident. The occupation army showcased explosions in the town, filming its soldiers in videos posted on TikTok to boast about pushing Hezbollah fighters away from the border. The IOF spokesperson released videos claiming to have captured Hezbollah fighters. All this was presented as evidence of achieving their goal: clearing the area of Hezbollah fighters. Statements about not allowing "Hezbollah fighters to return to the border" after the war ends were also widely circulated, to no avail.
On Sunday, despite aerial and reconnaissance surveillance, the presence of Israeli soldiers on the ground, the destruction of Aita al-Shaab, and the Israeli occupation forces' declaration of the area as free of Hezbollah fighters, Hezbollah launched a guided missile from Aita al-Shaab toward the al-Raheb site. The operation shattered Israeli claims of forcibly removing Hezbollah fighters from the border, revealing their failure to accomplish this objective as well.
Our correspondent clarified that launching a guided missile requires direct presence and a clear line of sight to the target. This proves the falsity of Israeli claims about the complete destruction of Hezbollah’s infrastructure in Aita al-Shaab. The operation demonstrates that Hezbollah retains intact infrastructure in the area, enabling such an attack, which the Israeli occupation forces failed to eliminate.
Moreover, "Israel’s" goal of neutralizing the threat of guided missiles through its ground maneuvers has not been achieved. This marks another point in Hezbollah's favor in this war and another failure for "Israel" in achieving its objectives.
Read more: Amid Hezbollah rocket fire, 'Israel' unable to fulfill main goal
