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Israel hits Hezbollah assets in Beirut, ‘erasing two decades of buildup’

Secondary explosions resulted from the strikes, confirming that weapons were being stored at the sites, according to the IDF.

By Joshua Marks, JNS

Israel has destroyed most of Hezbollah’s weapons storage sites and missile production facilities in the group’s stronghold in Dahieh, a southern suburb of Beirut, the Israel Defense Forces said on Tuesday.

In recent weeks, a series of Israeli aerial strikes have been carried out to dismantle the terror infrastructure as part of “Operation Northern Arrows” in Lebanon.

According to the army, these sites were established over the past two decades in residential areas, systematically concealed beneath civilian buildings.

Secondary explosions resulted from the strikes, confirming that weapons were being stored at the sites, according to the IDF.

The military emphasized that Hezbollah directly endangers the residents of the Lebanese capital by concealing large quantities of explosives under residential structures, often without residents’ knowledge.

In one example cited by the IDF, which it noted Israel had revealed at the United Nations General Assembly in 2020, a primary site was established in the heart of the Choueifat neighborhood beneath a complex of five residential buildings housing around 50 families, 85 meters from a school.

“This site was intended to produce various weapon components, including long-range precision missiles capable of striking anywhere in Israel. These missiles are a central element of Hezbollah’s precision missile project, funded by Iran,” the IDF said.

The IDF also used the 2020 Beirut Port blast as an example of how Hezbollah places civilians in Beirut in mortal danger.

In the Aug. 4 event, 2,750 tons of ammunition nitrate, a component used in Hezbollah’s weapon production process, exploded, causing massive destruction, killing 190 civilians and wounding thousands more.

Overnight Tuesday, the Israeli Air Force continued the strikes on Hezbollah weapons storage facilities and command centers in the Dahieh area, and on Wednesday morning the IDF issued evacuation orders for Lebanese civilians near six buildings in Beirut’s southern suburbs.

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The IDF stressed that many steps were taken before the strikes to minimize harm to the civilian population, including the issuing of advance warnings.

IDF hits launchers used in Tuesday’s deadly attacks

The IDF said on Wednesday morning that it struck the Hezbollah launchers in Lebanon used to fire 55 projectiles into Israel on Tuesday, one of which killed two people in the northern Israel city of Nahariya.

“Yesterday [Tuesday], Hezbollah launched numerous projectiles toward central and northern Israel. Following the attack, the IDF struck dozens of launchers in Lebanon, including the launcher used to fire at cities in central Israel and Nahariya,” the IDF said.

Ziv Belfer, 52, and Shimon Najm, 54, both residents of the city, were killed when a rocket hit the building where they were working.

In addition, two people in their 30s sustained light wounds from rocket shrapnel in Kibbutz Kabri in the Western Galilee. Both victims were evacuated to Nahariya’s Galilee Medical Center for treatment.

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According to the IDF, approximately 10 rockets were fired from Lebanon, only some of which were intercepted.

Earlier on Tuesday, a Hezbollah drone exploded in the yard of a kindergarten in the Haifa suburb of Nesher. There were no injuries reported and the impact caused minor damage.

Israel’s Channel 12 News reported that despite no sirens sounding in Nesher, teachers decided to evacuate the children to a protected area, thereby saving their lives.

Also on Tuesday, Hezbollah fired three ballistic missiles at central Israel, temporarily halting air traffic at Ben-Gurion International Airport. All three missiles were intercepted.

Overnight Tuesday and on Wednesday morning, three drones launched from Lebanon and Iraq were intercepted by Israel’s air defenses.

On Wednesday afternoon, 20 rockets were fired from Lebanon at the Western and Upper Galilee, according to the IDF.

Most of the projectiles were intercepted, with some impacts recorded. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Over the past 24 hours, the IAF struck over 120 Hezbollah and Hamas targets in Lebanon and in Gaza.

Halevi to reserve fighters: ‘The IDF is working very hard’

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi visited troops in Southern Lebanon for a situational assessment on Tuesday alongside commanding officers, telling the reserve forces that “The IDF is working very hard—attacking in Beirut, in Dahieh, [deep in Lebanon], and in Syria.”

Halevi emphasized that the Israeli attacks in Lebanon have taken “significant command and combat capabilities” from Hezbollah.

“The IDF is simultaneously operating very strongly, we struck heavily against Hezbollah targets in Beirut, the Dahieh, and other locations,” the army chief said.

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“We are conducting deep strikes and striking frequently in Syria and along the Syria-Lebanon border to prevent weapons transfers to Hezbollah. Clearing this area will provide the basic conditions to do things correctly in order to really ensure that the valley below is secure,” he said.

Four Hezbollah commanders killed in recent IDF strikes

The IDF reported Wednesday that four senior Hezbollah operatives, including three field commanders and the leader of the group’s anti-tank missile unit, were killed in recent Israeli strikes in Lebanon.

On Sunday, an IAF strike in Southern Lebanon targeted Ayman Muhammad Nabulsi, who was set to take over the terror group’s anti-tank missile operations in the Hajir area, part of Hezbollah’s “Nasser unit.”

Nabulsi had been designated as the successor to Muhammad Khalil Alian, who was killed late last month in an Israeli strike on the village of Burj Qallawiyah in Southern Lebanon.

Earlier, at the beginning of October, the IAF carried out an operation that eliminated Muhammad Musa Salah, Hezbollah’s commander in the Khiam area.

Salah had directed attacks against Israel and was responsible for firing over 2,500 projectiles targeting the Golan Heights, Upper Galilee, Galilee panhandle, and IDF positions in Southern Lebanon.

In additional precision strikes, the IDF also eliminated Hezbollah’s commander in the Ghajar area and Hajj Ali Yussef Salah, who served as the group’s commander in Tebnit.

“This further degrades Hezbollah’s capability to carry out terror attacks from southern Lebanon against Israeli civilians on the northern border,” the IDF said. “The IDF will continue to operate to thwart any danger or threat against the State of Israel.”