IAF strikes Hezbollah, Hamas terror assets in Lebanon

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.

By JNS

The Israeli Air Force carried out strikes in eastern Baalbek in Lebanon on Friday, killing several terrorists from Hezbollah’s missile unit at three separate command centers.

The targeted terrorists were recently identified as working to accelerate the group’s operational readiness and weapons buildup while planning rocket fire and other attacks against Israel, including operations that posed a threat to Israeli troops, the IDF said.

The operatives’ activities violated ceasefire understandings with Lebanon, the military said, stressing that Israeli forces remain committed to the truce.

The IDF added that Hezbollah routinely embeds its terrorist assets within populated areas in violation of the ceasefire, “cynically exploiting the civilian population as human shields to advance terror attacks.

“The IDF will continue to operate against any entrenchment and arming attempts conducted by Hezbollah, and will act decisively to remove any threat to the citizens of the State of Israel,” the statement added.

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 proxy to join any war with Israel and has dispatched 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 proxies could also enter the fray.

Accordingly, the IDF on Friday struck a command center operated by Hamas in the Ain al-Hilweh area, near Sidon in southwestern Lebanon.

Hamas operatives recently used the site to prepare attacks on Israeli troops and conduct training for assaults on Israel.

The infrastructure was embedded within a densely populated area, the IDF said.

“The IDF is operating against the entrenchment of the Hamas terrorist organization in Lebanon and will continue to act decisively against Hamas terrorists wherever they operate,” the statement said.

Lebanon’s government has pledged to disarm Hezbollah following a November 2024 ceasefire that ended a war triggered when the Iran-backed group joined hostilities on Oct. 8, 2023—one day after the Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel.

The Lebanese military will need at least four months to carry out the second phase of its plan to disarm Hezbollah and other non-state actors in the country’s south, Beirut said on Monday.

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 rejected 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.