Israel Says IDF Now Controls One-Fifth Of Lebanon As Hezbollah Suffers Heavy Losses

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief

(Worthy News) – Israel says the IDF now controls roughly one-fifth of Lebanese territory, marking a major expansion of its campaign against Hezbollah as Jerusalem works to push the Iranian-backed terrorist group away from Israel’s northern border.

The disclosure came during Sunday’s weekly Cabinet meeting, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel is “fighting terror on all fronts” and ministers received security briefings from senior IDF officials on Lebanon, Iran, Syria, and Judea and Samaria.

According to ministers who attended the briefing, Israel’s military leadership presented a far different picture from the one often seen by the public. While Israelis are exposed mainly to reports of fallen soldiers and rocket alerts in northern communities, the IDF said the battlefield reality shows deep Hezbollah losses, extensive destruction of terror infrastructure, and a high level of Israeli freedom of maneuver inside Lebanon.

“There is a very large gap between the public atmosphere and the reality on the ground,” ministers said, adding that the data presented was encouraging from both a military and security standpoint.

Israeli officials said more than 1,000 Hezbollah terrorists have been killed since the current ceasefire, including 350 in Lebanon in the past week alone. Roughly 2,000 rockets have been fired during that period, though officials said most were aimed at IDF forces rather than Israeli communities. Those launches often trigger alerts in northern towns, even when there are no impacts inside civilian areas.

Ministers were told that approximately 1.2 million residents of southern Lebanon have been evacuated from their homes, while only about 172,000 residents remain south of the Litani River. Of those, officials said 47,000 are Christians, with the rest made up of Shiites, Sunnis and Druze, most of them concentrated in the city of Tyre.

The Cabinet was also briefed on the destruction of Hezbollah infrastructure across southern Lebanon, including border villages that had been used as staging grounds, launch zones, and fortified terrorist positions against Israel. Officials said some villages near the Israeli border no longer exist as operational hubs.

“The army almost does not encounter the enemy. There is no face-to-face combat. These are deep guerrilla characteristics,” ministers were told.

Security officials said the IDF is now building a new line of military posts in southern Lebanon, modeled in part on its security posture in Gaza, with no enemy population between the posts and Israeli territory. The goal is to prevent Hezbollah from rebuilding its military presence directly along Israel’s border communities.

Netanyahu said Israeli forces had captured the strategically important Beaufort Ridge, where troops discovered a massive underground Hezbollah infrastructure complex built with Iranian backing.

“Our forces captured the Beaufort Ridge. They found a massive underground infrastructure there,” Netanyahu said. “We are completing the elimination of the terrorist villages adjacent to our border. We are striking them very hard, and we know Hezbollah is fleeing. We will not allow fire at our territory or our communities, and we will act accordingly.”

According to the IDF, Hezbollah had spent decades developing the underground bunker system at Beaufort Ridge with Iranian support. Israeli assessments indicate the site served as a key command center for Hezbollah’s fighting against IDF forces in southern Lebanon.

The site had previously been bombed from the air but was not destroyed. IDF troops are now working to dismantle the complex so it cannot be used again, a process officials said is expected to take several more days.

The new briefings follow Israel’s recent strike on Hezbollah targets in Beirut’s Dahiyeh district, where the IDF said it hit terrorist command centers in response to Hezbollah fire at Israeli territory. Lebanese reports said at least one person was killed in the strike, which Arab media said targeted a residential apartment used as a Hezbollah command center.

Iranian officials had previously warned that an Israeli strike in Beirut would be treated as a major escalation. After the Dahiyeh attack, Tehran retaliated by firing missiles at northern Israel, while the IDF moved to reinforce aerial and ground defenses and placed forces on heightened alert.

Israeli officials told ministers that Iran is using Hezbollah as a bargaining chip in its negotiations with the United States. The Cabinet was also told that the IDF remains on immediate alert to resume combat against Iran if necessary, while Tehran is facing what Israeli officials described as a leadership vacuum, severe communications problems, and widespread internal disorder.

Officials also said Lebanon’s president and prime minister have made unusually strong statements against Hezbollah, underscoring the pressure facing the Iranian-backed group as Israel widens its control in the south.

Prophetic Perspective: Could Developments in Lebanon Signal the “Latter Rain” Season?

As Israel signals the possibility of expanding its control into southern Lebanon, some prophecy watchers are carefully observing what such a move could represent—not only geopolitically, but spiritually.

Scripture speaks of a future season of outpouring, often referred to as the “latter rain”. In Zechariah 10:1, the prophet calls on God’s people to ask the Lord for rain in the time of the latter rain, pointing to a divinely appointed moment when God would pour out His Spirit in preparation for a great harvest.

In the same prophetic context, Zechariah describes a regathering of the Jewish people:

“I will whistle for them and gather them… I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon, until no more room is found for them” (Zechariah 10:8–10).

This passage is striking, as it specifically mentions not only Israel proper, but also Lebanon and Gilead as part of the overflow of restoration. The imagery is one of abundance—so many returning that the land itself struggles to contain them.

Another prophetic reference appears in Obadiah 1:20, which declares:

“The captives of this host of the children of Israel shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as Zarephath.”

Zarephath is historically identified along the Lebanese coast, between Sidon and Tyre—modern-day Lebanon. This suggests a future expansion of habitation or influence tied to Israel’s restoration.

Taken together, these passages point to a sequence: regathering, expansion, and ultimately the establishment of the Kingdom under the Lord’s authority.

Whether current military developments directly align with these prophecies remains to be seen. However, the convergence of Israel, Lebanon, and increasing global tension is drawing renewed attention from those who study the prophetic Scriptures.

For many, the key takeaway is not merely territorial — but spiritual. The same passages that speak of regathering also point to an outpouring of God’s Spirit. If the “latter rain” season is indeed approaching, it would signify not just conflict in the region, but the beginning of a global harvest unlike anything seen before.

In that light, events unfolding in the Middle East may serve as both a warning and an invitation — calling hearts to readiness in what many believe could be a pivotal moment in redemptive history.

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