Last week, special forces from the IDF’s Egoz Unit and the Golani Brigade’s Reconnaissance Unit crossed the Litani River and conducted a deep incursion into Lebanese territory, operating near the village of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah—roughly ten kilometers from the Israeli border.

The operation is among the most significant and audacious since ground operations in Lebanon began, as it broke the longstanding “Litani barrier”—a de facto limit that had shaped the campaign until now.

The forces crossed the river covertly aboard armored personnel carriers (APCs) and advanced toward a major Hezbollah launch site that has served as a hub for heavy rocket and mortar attacks on IDF troops in southern Lebanon in recent weeks.

The raid involved several intense close-quarters firefights with Hezbollah terrorists. In one incident, operatives emerged from a tunnel shaft north of the Litani and opened fire on the troops, who returned fire at very short range.

A combat dog from the Oketz Unit was killed in the operation, and several IDF soldiers were wounded. The injured troops were evacuated for medical treatment.