Hezbollah Prolonged Engagement with IDF at Haddatha; First Since Ceasefire
Hezbollah defended against an Israel Defence Forces ground assault on the village of Haddatha in the Bint Jbeil District of southern Lebanon on 19 and 20 May. Hezbollah used small arms, mortars, RPGs, anti-tank guided missiles and FPV drones to defend through two attacks, a seven-hour engagement on 19 May and a four-hour one on 20 May. Hezbollah claimed to have repelled the first attack but did not claim to have repelled the second; MTV Lebanon reported IDF units destroyed homes in Haddatha after the second engagement, suggesting that the IDF dislodged Hezbollah.
Hezbollah has typically avoided prolonged ground engagements since the ceasefire began, conducting most attacks using indirect fire (rockets and drones) rather than direct defence. The Haddatha engagement is therefore tactically and politically significant: it suggests Hezbollah either chose to make a stand for operational reasons (covering the withdrawal of important assets or personnel) or has reorganised to conduct combined-arms defence with embedded drone operators. Israeli ground forces have operated near Haddatha at least six times since 13 May. ISW separately notes that Hezbollah FPV drones now cause the majority of IDF deaths in southern Lebanon since the ceasefire, and Israeli public broadcaster Kan has reported that Hezbollah drones have affected 70 to 80 percent of Israeli forces’ freedom of movement in southern Lebanon — restricting most units to night-time movement.