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IDF targets Hezbollah launch sites in Southern Lebanon

These sites constituted a “violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” according to the Israeli military.

Israeli Air Force (IAF) F-35I Adir
An Israeli Air Force F-35I “Adir” stealth strike fighter jet, June 12, 2023. Credit: IDF Spokesperson’s Unit via Wikimedia Commons.

The Israel Defense Forces on Wednesday night carried out strikes against several Hezbollah missile launch sites in Southern Lebanon.

“The presence of these launching sites constitutes a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” said the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit.

The IDF will continue to operate to remove any threat against the State of Israel and to prevent attempts by Hezbollah to reestablish capabilities, the statement added.

On Monday, Israeli forces eliminated three Hezbollah operatives involved in advancing attacks against troops and in reestablishing terrorist infrastructure in the Sidon area of Southern Lebanon, according to the IDF.

An initial review found that one of the terrorists killed in the strike also served in a Lebanese military intelligence unit.

One of the two other operatives killed was involved in Hezbollah’s aerial defense network, according to the IDF.

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said on Dec. 20 that Hezbollah terrorists south of the Litani River would soon be disarmed, a key requirement of Beirut’s ceasefire with Israel.

Yisrael Beiteinu Party chief Avigdor Liberman dismissed the statement on Monday. “This is simply nonsense, just fiction. [We’re] not even close to dismantling Hezbollah’s arsenal, not even in Southern Lebanon,” he told JNS.

“I don’t know what intelligence [information] Lebanon’s prime minister has, but I trust the assessments of [Israel’s] defense establishment,” he added, speaking at a faction meeting of his party at the Knesset in Jerusalem.

The Israeli-Lebanese ceasefire went into effect on Nov. 27, 2024, following an intense two-month IDF military campaign that led to the weakening of the Iranian terror proxy’s leadership. The deal was cemented by the Israeli and Lebanese governments and five mediating countries, including the United States.

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