Hezbollah released footage over the past day showing Israeli military engineering equipment, including excavators and other heavy machinery, left in the Litani River area.
The images, presented as a propaganda victory by the organization, reflect a fierce and complex battle that unfolded during the early stages of fighting in southern Lebanon.
The incident took place during a special operation carried out by a joint force from the Paratroopers Brigade and the Yahalom special engineering unit. Their mission was to cross the Litani at the Beaufort castle and seize a strategically important position. To prepare for the crossing, the force was equipped with heavy engineering vehicles and inflatable boats.
During the operation, the troops came under intense and sustained fire, including heavy barrages of mortars and rockets. In the attack, Moshe Yitzhak Katz was killed, and approximately 20 soldiers and officers were wounded to varying degrees.
According to IDF assessments, the attack was not a premeditated ambush but rather a rapid response by enemy forces who identified the operation in real time and concentrated heavy fire on the troops.
Sources indicate that while the paratroopers continued fighting and held their ground under fire to allow for the evacuation of the wounded, senior commanders ultimately ordered a rapid withdrawal and disengagement from the area.
The decision has drawn criticism within the military, particularly regarding the abandonment of engineering equipment in enemy territory. A senior officer described the incident as serious, citing both command and operational shortcomings, and suggesting that the withdrawal should not have escalated into a rushed retreat.
Among the equipment left behind were inflatable boats, personal gear, and heavy engineering vehicles used in the river-crossing effort.
Shortly after the withdrawal, Hezbollah operatives reached the site and began rigging the abandoned machinery with explosives, aiming to target Israeli forces in case of a recovery attempt.
Upon identifying the threat, the IDF dispached fighter jets to destroy the equipment, preventing it from being captured or repurposed as large explosive devices.
Despite the footage circulated by Hezbollah showing what it described as “spoils of war," the IDF maintains that most of the equipment was eventually recovered and that the withdrawal decision was necessary to protect the lives of exposed soldiers.