Israel’s military expanded its airstrikes in southern Lebanon this Wednesday (November 19) and continued to launch strikes in the border areas. The Israeli military stated that the purpose of these actions is to prevent the Iran-backed Hezbollah from reassembling and expanding its firepower in the border region.
According to the Israeli military, Hezbollah has been attempting to rearm since last year’s ceasefire. Hezbollah, on the other hand, insists that it has complied with the agreement to withdraw from the southern border areas, handing over control to the Lebanese army.
On Wednesday morning, the Israeli military named specific buildings in four villages in the south on social media, warning residents to evacuate, stating that the targets were “Hezbollah military infrastructure.” The named areas included Deir Kifa, Chehour, Aainata, and Tayr Filsay.
The Israeli military claimed to have destroyed multiple “weapon warehouses belonging to Hezbollah’s rocket forces” and emphasized that the facilities are “located within civilian settlements,” with measures taken to reduce the risk of civilian casualties. The Israeli military also accused Hezbollah of rebuilding a command center and weapon warehouse in another village, Beit Lif.
The Lebanese Ministry of Health stated that earlier in the day, an Israeli airstrike in Al-Tiri in the south resulted in one death. The Israeli military, on the other hand, claimed that the deceased was an armed member responsible for rebuilding Hezbollah’s military capabilities.
On Tuesday, the Israeli military launched airstrikes on Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near the southern city of Sidon in Lebanon, where the Ministry of Health reported 13 deaths.
The Israeli military indicated that the target of the attack was a “military outpost” used by Hamas inside the refugee camp to plan attacks on Israel; however, Hamas denied this, calling the claim “pure fabrication.”
According to the ceasefire agreement led by the United States and France last year, the Lebanese armed forces are responsible for confiscating all “unauthorized” weapons south of the Litani River, the closest and most sensitive area to the Israeli border.
Hezbollah’s Secretary-General, Naim Qassem, stated that the agreement only applies to the southern region below the Litani River and does not cover all of Lebanon. The Lebanese government, on the other hand, accuses Israel of continuing to occupy certain locations in the south, in violation of the ceasefire agreement.
(This article was referenced from Reuters)