IDF Flees Lebanon Base! Hezbollah Strikes Iron Dome Sites, Merkava Tanks, Drone Dome Jammer | VERTEX

Added: 2026-05-20

[00:00:01]Israeli forces left a flag behind when they vacated their base in southern Lebanon.

[00:00:05]Hezbollah sent a drone to collect it.

[00:00:08]Two Iron Dome batteries destroyed, two Merkava tanks, a special forces major killed 2 and 1/2 km inside territory Israel calls controlled.

[00:00:19]26 operations, one day, and Israeli flag is on the floor.

[00:00:32]In a moment broadcast to the world, an FPV drone operated by Hezbollah brought down an Israeli military flag from the headquarters of the 226th paratroopers brigade in the southern Lebanese town of Al-Bayada, planting it on the floor beneath a sign that read, in Arabic and Hebrew, "Al-Bayada does not welcome you."

[00:00:55]The flag had been left behind by Israeli forces who vacated the base a few days earlier on May 11th, after more than 2 weeks of sustained resistance strikes dismantled the brigade's foothold piece by piece.

[00:01:09]It was not a retreat under fire in a single engagement. FPV drones picked off Humvees, surveillance cameras, intelligence soldiers, and technical equipment in operation after operation until, by Hezbollah's account, no one wanted to stay.

[00:01:26]The footage published by Hezbollah's military media compiled the strikes that emptied the base and closed on the image of the flag on the ground.

[00:01:35]The Israeli occupation forces evacuated the headquarters building on May 11th, 2026, under the pressure of intensified resistance strikes, leaving the flag near the site before resistance fighters targeted it.

[00:01:50]The broader picture across southern Lebanon on the same day was just as striking.

[00:01:55]Hezbollah reported 26 operations in a 24-hour window, including the destruction of two Iron Dome platforms, one in Jal al-Alam and another in Markaliyo, both taken out by FPV drones.

[00:02:09]A drone dome anti-drone jamming system was also hit in Rashaf.

[00:02:14]Two Merkava tanks were destroyed in fighting near Hadatha with Israeli warplanes called in to extract the force after crews suffered casualties.

[00:02:24]Communications vehicles, military intelligence soldiers, bulldozers, and troop gatherings were struck at multiple points across the south.

[00:02:32]Then came a separate admission from Israeli media.

[00:02:36]A major in the Maglan special forces unit, one of the Israeli military's most elite commando formations, was killed in southern Lebanon in an area Israeli sources had described as being under Israeli control.

[00:02:50]A resistance fighter had advanced through heavily surveilled terrain, reached a point 2 and 1/2 km from the occupied border, shot the officer dead, and withdrawn safely.

[00:03:06]>> [music] [music] >> He had a wedding date set, a fiance waiting, a month to go. The Israeli military announced on May 16th that Captain Maor Israel Reconati, a 24-year-old platoon commander in the Golani Brigade's 12th battalion, was killed during combat operations in southern Lebanon. According to Israeli media reports, Reconati was killed in a Hezbollah explosive drone attack targeting Israeli troops operating near the Litani River.

[00:03:39]He had been due to marry his fiance, Ronnie, in just over a month. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described him as a heroic fighter who led his soldiers courageously in battle.

[00:03:52]The entire people of Israel bows its head in mourning for the fall of Captain Maos Israel Recanati, platoon commander in the 12th battalion of Golani, who fell in battle in southern Lebanon. My wife and I extend our deepest condolences from the bottom of our hearts to the family of Maos, a heroic warrior who led his soldiers with courage against our enemies. Maos was due to marry in about a month to the love of his life, >> [music] >> Ronnie, and we all embrace her and his loved ones in this difficult hour. May his memory be blessed and eternally cherished in our hearts.

[00:04:26]Recanati became the latest Israeli soldier killed despite the recently extended ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.

[00:04:33]>> [music] >> Israeli officials say he was the seventh soldier killed in southern Lebanon since the ceasefire began and the 20th since fighting escalated during the broader regional confrontation linked to Iran.

[00:04:46]At the same time, Hezbollah claimed it had launched at least 19 military operations against Israeli forces over a 24-hour period. The Lebanese group said the attacks included explosive drones, artillery fire, and roadside bombs targeting Israeli troops, command sites, and military equipment across southern Lebanon.

[00:05:07]The operations included heavy and consecutive military operations targeting Israeli positions and military assets.

[00:05:15]The Israeli military said it intercepted several Hezbollah drones and responded with major air strikes against roughly 100 Hezbollah-linked targets over the weekend, including surveillance sites, weapons [music] depots, and operational infrastructure.

[00:05:30]Lebanese state media reported Israeli strikes hitting dozens of villages across southern Lebanon, triggering fresh civilian displacement towards Sidon and Beirut.

[00:05:40]Lebanese authorities say nearly 3,000 people have been killed since hostilities resumed in March. The US has announced a 45-day ceasefire extension following a third round of talks between Israeli and Lebanese envoys in Washington. Hezbollah has repeatedly rejected the negotiations and says its weapons are not subject to any agreement. For now, diplomacy survives on paper, but on the ground, the fighting is still very much alive.

[00:06:19]A young Israeli [music] soldier is dead, killed in the hills of southern Lebanon by a Hezbollah mortar shell as fighting along the border shows no sign of slowing.

[00:06:29]The IDF announced on May 15th that Staff Sergeant Negev Dagan, 20 years old, a combat soldier in the Golani Brigade's 12th Battalion, was killed the previous night in the Litani area of southern Lebanon.

[00:06:44]He was from Dekel, a farming community near the Gaza border.

[00:06:49]According to the Israeli media, medics worked to save him after he was struck, but his death was confirmed shortly after.

[00:06:57]Dagan is among a growing number of Israeli soldiers killed since major fighting with Hezbollah resumed in March, with dozens more wounded in what has become a grinding near daily exchange across the border.

[00:07:10]Hezbollah [music] pressed on through the night.

[00:07:13]In statements issued in the early hours of May 15th, the group announced a string of operations across southern Lebanon targeting Israeli troops, armored vehicles, and military positions.

[00:07:27]Fighters detonated explosive devices near Al Taybeh, forcing Israeli soldiers to retreat under fire while military helicopters moved in to evacuate the wounded.

[00:07:39]Two D9 bulldozers were destroyed in a separate strike near Hadatha.

[00:07:44]A Merkava tank advancing toward a targeted force was hit directly by a guided missile.

[00:07:51]Then came the drone footage.

[00:07:54]The operations were carried out in defense of Lebanon and its people in response to continued Israeli attacks on Southern Lebanese villages and repeated ceasefire violations.

[00:08:06]Video from the Southern Lebanese border shows the moment a Hezbollah drone strikes an Israeli troop transport vehicle. A scene that has grown increasingly common as the group expands its aerial campaign against Israeli forces. The group has deployed FPV drones, guided missiles, and mortar fire with mounting regularity against Israeli military positions across the South.

[00:08:29]The IDF is now building cover.

[00:08:32]Soldiers across Southern Lebanon have begun erecting large nets around their positions in a bid to intercept incoming drones before they reach their targets.

[00:08:42]The military confirmed it received 158,000 square meters of protective netting sourced specifically to counter the growing FPV drone threat.

[00:08:53]It is a telling image. One of the region's most formidable armies sheltering under nets trying to stay one step ahead of what is coming from above.

[00:09:03]Will it stop the Hezbollah drones?

[00:09:06]Only time will tell.