Israeli Air Force jets conducted fresh strikes in Beirut’s Hezbollah terrorist stronghold of Dahiyeh on Wednesday afternoon, breaking a days-long lull in Israeli operations in the Lebanese capital.
“A short time ago, Air Force fighter jets, at the direction of the Military Intelligence Directorate, attacked headquarters, munitions depots and military infrastructure of the Hezbollah terrorist organization in Beirut’s Dahiyeh area,” the Israel Defense Forces confirmed in a statement.
The IDF noted that “the targets that were attacked were established by Hezbollah in the heart of a civilian population. This is another example of Hezbollah’s exploitation of Lebanese citizens as human shields.
“Before the attack, many measures were taken to reduce the chance of harming civilians, including the use of precision weapons, observation efforts and advance warnings to the local population,” the army said.
According to the MTV Lebanon, aka Murr Television, news outlet, waves of “heavy” strikes hit targets in the Beirut district, while simultaneously, attacks targeted Hezbollah sites in the Southern Lebanon city of Nabatieh.
The aerial attacks were launched shortly after the IDF issued evacuation orders for several buildings in Dahiyeh, where the Iranian-backed terrorist organization’s leadership is largely based.
The orders were published as Hezbollah released a pre-recorded speech by its secretary-general, Naim Qassem, on the occasion of the end of the 40-day mourning period for his slain predecessor Hassan Nasrallah.
In the address, Qassem rejected truce efforts led by the United States, saying that “only one thing will end this war, which is the battlefield.”
Hezbollah terrorists fired rocket barrages toward central Israel on Wednesday, setting off sirens in several cities, including Tel Aviv. At least one rocket hit the parking lot of Ben-Gurion International Airport.
Wednesday morning’s rocket attacks were the largest barrage fired by Hezbollah at Israel’s densely populated central region since the start of the war over a year ago.
On Wednesday afternoon, more air-raid sirens were activated across central Israel, including in areas near the airport, warning of additional aerial attacks from Lebanon. One rocket was intercepted, the IDF said.
More than 26,000 rockets, missiles and drones have been launched at the Jewish state by Tehran and its regional terrorist proxies since Hamas’s massacre on Oct. 7, 2023, according to official numbers.
The data was published on the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 invasion. There have been some 13,200 launches from the Gaza Strip, 12,400 from Lebanon, 400 from Iran, 180 from Yemen and 60 from Syria, per the IDF.
