Israel gives Lebanese civilians two hours to evacuate areas used by Hezbollah to store weapons, after IDF strikes over 300 targets in southern Lebanon.
By David Rosenberg, World Israel News
The Israeli military announced Monday afternoon it plans to carry out an extensive aerial campaign against Hezbollah positions in eastern Lebanon, warning residents in targeted areas to evacuate.
Senior IDF spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said that the Israeli Air Force was poised to expand its air campaign against Hezbollah missile depots to the Beqaa Valley of eastern Lebanon, after striking hundreds of positions in southern Lebanon, near the Israeli border.
The IDF has given residents of the effected areas two hours to evacuate before the airstrikes begin.
Hagari said that residents of the Beqaa Valley living in or near homes used to store Hezbollah rockets must evacuate.
“This warning is focused on the villages in the Beqaa valley,” Hagari said.
“I urge the Lebanese residents of the villages in the Beqaa Valley who are inside or near houses where rockets and weapons are stored, to move away immediately! For your safety and protection.”
“You can see the operations we are currently conducting in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah intends to launch these weapons toward Israel, and we will not allow it! Stay away for your own protection. Hassan Nasrallah is lying to you and putting you in danger,” Hagari continued, referencing the leader of the Hezbollah organization.
The chief of Lebanon’s Ogero telecom corporation told Reuters that Lebanese residents had received more than 80,000 foreign calls suspected of coming from the Israeli military on Monday, urging locals to evacuate ahead of impending airstrikes.
Earlier on Monday, Hagari revealed evidence collected by the IDF, showing Hezbollah’s use of private homes to store rockets and missiles, with some buildings modified to allow for missiles to be launched.
During Monday morning and afternoon, Israeli warplanes bombed over 300 Hezbollah rocket and missile storage sites across southern Lebanon.
According to Lebanon’s health ministry, at least 100 people were killed and 500 more injured in the strikes.
Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley, adjacent to the Syrian border, is considered a Hezbollah stronghold and serves as an important transportation hub for personnel and arms from Syria to the Lebanese terror group.