The Israel Defense Forces on Thursday said that 200 Hezbollah fighters were killed and 140 rocket launchers destroyed in a week of air strikes that posed a threat to troops. Those killed included a battalion operations chief and the battalion chief of anti-tank weapons in Hezbollah's Radwan Force.

Weapons storage and production centers destroyed

The attacks have caused major damage to Hezbollah's capabilities. Lebanese media reported new airstrikes in the Beirut neighbourhood of Dahiyah, a Shi'ite stronghold south of the Lebanese capital. It said most of the group's weapons storage and production centers located nearby were destroyed.

78 died in last 24 hours

Meanwhile, the Lebanese Health Ministry has announced that 78 people were killed while 122 others were injured in Israeli airstrikes in various areas of Lebanon in the last 24 hours.

Smuggling of arms to Hezbollah

According to Reuters, Israel has targeted Qusair, a town south of Homs province in central Syria. The army attacked routes between Syria and Lebanon that are used to smuggle weapons from Syria to Hezbollah.

Military sites targeted

Israeli airstrikes hit bridges on the Syrian-Lebanese border in Qusayr, causing significant damage. Meanwhile, Israeli attacks on several residential buildings in the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday killed 15 people and injured 16. Israel said they targeted military sites.

Hezbollah ready to remove fighters from the border

A senior Lebanese official has indicated that Hezbollah is willing to withdraw its fighters from the Lebanon-Israel border in any ceasefire, but rejected Israel's demand for freedom of action against the Iran-backed group in Lebanon in the future.

The war in Lebanon will end soon

An Israeli minister indicated a ceasefire was close. However, he said a key point was to ensure Israel retained freedom of action inside Lebanon if any agreement was violated.

Hamas attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7 killed at least 1,200 people and took 252 Israeli and foreign hostages. More than 30 of the remaining 97 hostages have been presumed dead.