IDF fighter jets hit Hezbollah weapons depots that Israel says violated ceasefire
Military confirms airstrikes in Nabatieh and Beqaa Valley areas late Thursday; separate strike reported by Lebanese media on Friday morning
The Israeli Air Force carried out strikes on Hezbollah targets in Lebanon on Thursday night, targeting weapons storage sites in the Nabatieh area and the Beqaa Valley.
After Lebanese media reported the attacks, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed striking Lebanon, saying fighter jets hit a pair of sites where the Iran-backed terrorist group was storing weaponry in violation of the ceasefire reached in November.
A statement from the IDF described the strikes as “targeted” and vows the military “will prevent any attempt by the Hezbollah terror organization to rearm, in accordance with the understandings of the ceasefire agreement.”
Both Nabatieh and the Beqaa Valley areas are north of the Litani River, beyond which Hezbollah is required to withdraw under a ceasefire agreement.
On Friday morning, Lebanese media outlets reported a fresh Israeli airstrike near the village of Tebna, south of Sidon. There was no immediate comment from the IDF.
Lebanon’s government did not comment on the strikes.
مراسلة «#الأخبار»: غارة إسرائيلية تستهدف تبنا في أطراف #البيسارية جنوبي #لبنان pic.twitter.com/kB3SDSt1nO
— جريدة الأخبار – Al-Akhbar (@AlakhbarNews) February 7, 2025
A fragile ceasefire has been in place since November 27, 2024, after more than a year of hostilities, including two months of all-out war.
The conflict began with Hezbollah cross-border rocket and drone attacks on October 8, 2023, the day after the Palestinian terror group Hamas led thousands of terrorists in a devastating invasion of southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and triggering war in the Gaza Strip.
The Iran-backed group said its attacks were to support Gaza. By the time the ceasefire came into effect, Israel had decimated Hezbollah’s leadership and depleted its fighting capabilities.
Under the deal, Hezbollah must pull back north of the Litani — some 30 kilometers (18 miles) from Israel’s border — while Israel is entitled to strike threats it considers imminent, and forward less imminent threats to a monitoring committee comprising representatives of Lebanon, Israel, France, the United States and UNIFIL.
Under the truce deal, Lebanon’s military was to deploy in the south alongside UN peacekeepers as the Israeli army withdrew over 60 days.
The withdrawal period for Israeli forces was delayed to February 18 after Jerusalem requested an extension from the original January 26 deadline. Israel said that it needed to stay longer because the Lebanese army had not deployed to all areas of southern Lebanon, as agreed.
In addition to pulling back its forces north of the Litani River, Hezbollah is also committed to dismantling any remaining military infrastructure in the south.
Israel’s military says its forces have continued to uncover and seize Hezbollah weapons in prohibited areas and that the Lebanese army is not keeping to its part of the deal.
AFP contributed to this report.
