An overnight Israeli commando raid into a Lebanese border town ended in a chaotic airborne retreat after Hezbollah fighters sprung a deadly ambush in narrow streets and olive groves overlooking the frontier, security sources say.

The IDF unit, backed by armour and drones, slipped into the town before dawn, reportedly hunting senior Hezbollah operatives and rocket teams. Within minutes, however, fighters lying in wait triggered roadside bombs and opened up with anti‑tank missiles and heavy machine guns, pinning Israeli troops in alleyways as armoured vehicles burned.

Radio traffic from the battle, leaked to regional media, captures frantic calls for air support and medical evacuation. Israeli attack helicopters and drones dived in, firing flares and cannon bursts to suppress Hezbollah firing points while CH‑53 and Black Hawk helicopters hovered just metres above rooftops to winch out wounded commandos under fire.

Hezbollah channels are already airing helmet‑cam footage and thermal clips they say show Israeli soldiers abandoning positions and sprinting to extraction zones, framing the clash as proof that “the resistance owns the ground.” The IDF describes the operation as a “completed mission under complex fire,” confirming casualties but insisting key objectives were achieved.

For a region watching every frame, the images are stark: elite Israeli troops forced to flee by helicopter from a border town Israel once vowed never to let become a fortress again — and a Hezbollah eager to turn one bloody ambush into a symbol of shifting power on the northern front.