JNS
The IDF targeted arms storage facilities, missile launchers and military installations, accusing the Iranian proxy of violating the ceasefire.
The Israel Defense Forces struck Hezbollah terror infrastructure sites across Southern Lebanon overnight Wednesday, targeting weapons storage facilities, missile launchers and military installations being used to plan attacks against Israel, according to the military.
As Israel braces for retaliation by Hezbollah and the prospect of a wider confrontation with Iran, Jerusalem has made neutralizing missile launchers and weapons depots a central aim of its campaign in Southern Lebanon.
The Iranian regime is pressuring its Lebanese terror proxy to join any future war with Israel and has sent Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to Lebanon to shore up support, Ynet reported on Wednesday, adding that Jerusalem has warned the Shi'ite group it will face a “very painful” blow if it intervenes and is preparing for the possibility that other Iranian terror proxies could also enter the fray.
The sites struck on overnight Wednesday violated agreements between Israel and Lebanon, said the IDF, which vowed to continue operations against threats.
Despite a November 2024 ceasefire, Israel has retained a presence in Southern Lebanon and carried out limited strikes against Hezbollah, according to the military to prevent the terror army from rebuilding its military capabilities.
Lebanon’s government last year committed to disarming Hezbollah after a war with Israel in which the Iran-backed terrorist group suffered significant losses. Hezbollah joined the fighting on Oct. 8, 2023—one day after Hamas led a terrorist invasion of southern Israel, killing, wounding and kidnapping thousands.
The Lebanese military will need at least four months to carry out the second phase of its plan to disarm the Hezbollah terrorist group and other non-state actors in the country’s south, Beirut said on Monday, according to AFP.
The second phase covers the area between the Litani and Awali rivers, roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Beirut, following the supposed completion last month of the first phase along the southern strip between the Litani River and the Israeli border.
Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem pushed back against the disarmament effort on Monday, calling the government’s focus on the issue “a grave sin” and urging officials to halt what he described as successive concessions to Jerusalem’s demands.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s Office in a Jan. 8 statement said that while Beirut’s efforts were “an encouraging beginning,” they were “far from sufficient” given Hezbollah’s ongoing Iran-aided rearmament efforts.
“The ceasefire agreement brokered by the United States between Israel and Lebanon states clearly, Hezbollah must be fully disarmed. This is imperative for Israel’s security and Lebanon’s future,” said Jerusalem.
