{"id":59628,"date":"2026-05-28T16:19:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T20:19:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/idf-says-one-third-of-hezbollahs-prewar-force-has-been-killed-since-october-2023\/28\/05\/2026\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T16:19:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T20:19:26","slug":"idf-says-one-third-of-hezbollahs-prewar-force-has-been-killed-since-october-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/idf-says-one-third-of-hezbollahs-prewar-force-has-been-killed-since-october-2023\/28\/05\/2026\/","title":{"rendered":"IDF says one-third of Hezbollah\u2019s prewar force has been killed since October 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The IDF said that it is trying to break the link between Hezbollah and Iran talks.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">About one-third of Hezbollah\u2019s pre-2023 forces have been killed by the IDF in recent years, IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/defrin-dont-aim-regime-change-222401779.html\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Effie Defrin;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Effie Defrin&quot;}\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Effie Defrin<\/a> said Thursday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He was addressing criticism that the IDF and the government were not doing enough to protect Israelis near the Lebanese border and IDF soldiers in southern Lebanon from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jpost.com\/defense-and-tech\/article-897569\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Hezbollah\u2019s first-person view (FPV) drone attacks.;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Hezbollah\u2019s first-person view (FPV) drone attacks.&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Hezbollah\u2019s first-person view (FPV) drone attacks.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">About 2,500 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/world\/articles\/hezbollah-still-strong-enough-drag-182452795.html\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Hezbollah;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Hezbollah&quot;}\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Hezbollah<\/a> fighters have been killed since March, and the IDF has said 7,000 to 8,000 terrorists have been killed since October 8, 2023, Defrin said. This accounts for one-third of Hezbollah\u2019s fighters, as they numbered around 30,000 fighters in 2023, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">These statistics clash with other IDF estimates, which say Hezbollah has 40,000 to 50,000 fighters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The IDF has said about 10,000 Hezbollah fighters have been wounded in the current war, and many more terrorists were wounded during the 2023-2024 conflict, including thousands on September 17-18, 2024, when the Mossad unleashed the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/inside-israel-secret-operation-turn-164157018.html\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:exploding pagers;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;exploding pagers&quot;}\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">exploding pagers<\/a> on Hezbollah.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In addition, Israel has recently killed Hezbollah commanders in relatively high positions, including the El-Hiam region commander, the deputy commander of the special Badr unit, the intelligence chief of the Shakif region, the engineering commander and deputy commander of the Yohmor region, and the engineering commander of the Jouaiyya region, the IDF said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Despite Defrin\u2019s reassurances, other senior IDF officers have told <em>The Jerusalem Post<\/em> it could be months before the IDF has a real answer for the relatively new FPV drone threat.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Another senior IDF officer said the military has handed out special shotguns that fire US-made bullets, which operate by spraying an area with smaller pellets. This increases the likelihood of striking a small threat, such as a drone, which a soldier might miss when firing only in one area at a time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Furthermore, the IDF has spread the use of nets to catch and disrupt the FPV drones.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The IDF, working with the Defense Ministry and a number of private businesses, is testing and developing a number of measures to better detect FPV drones and quickly warn soldiers about an impending drone attack.<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\">Breaking Hezbollah-Iran link<\/h3>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Meanwhile, a senior IDF officer expressed frustration that while the IDF wants to break the link between Hezbollah and the ongoing US-Iran talks, Israel may be unable to do so.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The outcome of the talks depends more on the US than on Israel\u2019s military or diplomacy, the IDF said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">If Hezbollah is kept out of any ceasefire deal with Iran, Israel would gain a strategic advantage against the group in the future, it said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Moreover, the IDF was positive about the ongoing negotiations between Israel, the US, and the government of Lebanon, which has continually distanced itself from Hezbollah during the current war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">There is a clash between the IDF\u2019s desire to be the party that disarms Hezbollah versus the reality that Hezbollah has assistance from Iran, which may grant it bargaining power with the US.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Hezbollah has been pushing Iran to reach a ceasefire deal with the US so that it can rest after entering a war that has handed it major losses, the IDF said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/world\/articles\/idf-hezbollah-lost-one-third-182243076.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The IDF said that it is trying to break the link between Hezbollah and Iran talks. About one-third of Hezbollah&rsquo;s pre-2023 forces<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/idf-says-one-third-of-hezbollahs-prewar-force-has-been-killed-since-october-2023\/28\/05\/2026\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":59629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":0,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/en\/jerusalem_post_articles_818\/8ae9c0223f477e70d8d3c3575b999344","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59628"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}