IDF strikes Hezbollah weapons facilities in Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday struck Hezbollah weapon storage facilities in Southern Lebanon.

According to the military, the depots were used by the Iranian-backed terror group to plan and carry out attacks against Israel.

“The presence of these terror infrastructure sites constitutes a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the military said, referring to the Nov. 27, 2024, ceasefire deal that ended more than a year of war.

“The IDF will continue to operate to remove any threat to the State of Israel,” it added.

The Israeli military on Friday struck a Hezbollah precision weapons manufacturing facility in Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley, located approximately 20 miles east of Beirut.

The situation in Lebanon remains volatile following the end of the truce on Feb. 18. Hezbollah began launching missiles and drones at the Jewish state a day after the Hamas-led massacre on Oct. 7, 2023.

Although Jerusalem has withdrawn most of its ground forces since the war ended, it still controls five strategic sites in Southern Lebanon. Israeli officials have stated that the IDF will retain these positions until the Lebanese army demonstrates it can maintain security.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Raggi said on Sept. 9 that the country’s armed forces will have fully disarmed Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon within three months.

On Saturday, Naim Qassem, the secretary-general of the Iranian proxy, said that Hezbollah will not lay down its arms, in a public show of defiance against the Lebanese army’s plan.

“We will never abandon our weapons, nor will we relinquish them,” Qassem declared, speaking in front of tens of thousands of supporters at the burial shrine of his predecessor Hassan Nasrallah to mark the first anniversary of his targeted killing by Israel.

“We are ready for martyrdom,” Qassem added.