Hezbollah commander surrenders to Israeli troops in tunnel raid

Footage shows the moment a Hezbollah commander was captured by Israeli troops in his underwear during a raid in Lebanon.

A Hezbollah commander was captured by Israeli troops in his underwear during a tunnel raid in Lebanon earlier this month, officials said.

Hassan Aqil Jawad, the leader of Hezbollah’s forces in Ayta ash Shab, was confronted by Israel Defense Force soldiers inside a tunnel shaft in the terrorist group’s command centre in the village in October, the Times of Israel reported.

Footage released by the IDF shows the surprised terrorist leader, who was only wearing underwear at the time of the raid, slowly walking down a dark corridor before raising his hands and surrendering to the soldiers.

Jawad then drops to the ground and proceeds to slowly crawl toward the IDF troops before they take him into custody.

The operatives were caught in a surprise raid by Israeli troops earlier this month. Picture: IDF

Jawad and several of his other operatives hiding in the compound – who were also detained in their underwear – were brought back to Israel for interrogation.

IDF officials said Jawad and his men divulged many of Hezbollah’s secrets that helped guide the subsequent raids in southern Lebanon.

“During the interrogation of the terrorists, they detailed many terror infrastructures that are located in the area of ​​Ayta ash Shab,” the Israeli military said.

“These findings helped the forces on the ground to locate and destroy the terror infrastructure in a targeted manner and to prepare for threats in the area.”

The terrorists were forced to crawl toward the IDF soldiers, who took them to Israel for questioning. Picture: IDF

The Israeli military said the Hezbollah members later gave up valuable information that helped the ground raids in Lebanon. Picture: IDF

The IDF said it has captured several more Hezbollah operatives since its ground operation began in southern Lebanon at the start of October.

The Jewish state has not revealed how many terrorists it has detained since the incursion began.

Hezbollah names new leader

The footage comes as Hezbollah announced deputy head Naim Qassem will succeed Hassan Nasrallah as their leader following his death in an Israeli strike on south Beirut last month.

Qassem is currently living in Tehran, Iran, after fleeing Lebanon on a plane with the country’s foreign minister on October 5, UAE-based Erem News outlet reports.

Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian’s website said Qassem’s appointment would “strengthen the will of the resistance”.

In a statement on X, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant wrote Qassem was a “temporary appointment” who would not last for long.

In a separate post in Hebrew, he added that the “countdown has begun”.

Originally published as Hezbollah commander surrenders to Israeli troops in tunnel raid