diff --git a/src/core/diff/strategies/__tests__/multi-search-replace.test.ts b/src/core/diff/strategies/__tests__/multi-search-replace.test.ts
index e4a52af6d4..60d9f0508b 100644
--- a/src/core/diff/strategies/__tests__/multi-search-replace.test.ts
+++ b/src/core/diff/strategies/__tests__/multi-search-replace.test.ts
@@ -1486,6 +1486,23 @@ function five() {
 }`)
 				}
 			})
+
+			it("should delete a line when search block has line number prefix and replace is empty", async () => {
+				const originalContent = "line 1\nline to delete\nline 3"
+				const diffContent = `
+<<<<<<< SEARCH
+:start_line:2
+:end_line:2
+-------
+2 | line to delete
+=======
+>>>>>>> REPLACE`
+				const result = await strategy.applyDiff(originalContent, diffContent)
+				expect(result.success).toBe(true)
+				if (result.success) {
+					expect(result.content).toBe("line 1\nline 3")
+				}
+			})
 		})
 
 		describe("insertion", () => {
diff --git a/src/core/diff/strategies/multi-search-replace.ts b/src/core/diff/strategies/multi-search-replace.ts
index bf80f09052..b4c0920843 100644
--- a/src/core/diff/strategies/multi-search-replace.ts
+++ b/src/core/diff/strategies/multi-search-replace.ts
@@ -301,7 +301,10 @@ Only use a single line of '=======' between search and replacement content, beca
 			replaceContent = this.unescapeMarkers(replaceContent)
 
 			// Strip line numbers from search and replace content if every line starts with a line number
-			if (everyLineHasLineNumbers(searchContent) && everyLineHasLineNumbers(replaceContent)) {
+			if (
+				(everyLineHasLineNumbers(searchContent) && everyLineHasLineNumbers(replaceContent)) ||
+				(everyLineHasLineNumbers(searchContent) && replaceContent.trim() === "")
+			) {
 				searchContent = stripLineNumbers(searchContent)
 				replaceContent = stripLineNumbers(replaceContent)
 			}