IDF: Jets target ‘significant underground’ Hezbollah site in south Lebanon
Unusually heavy strikes hit facility near Beaufort Castle used by Hezbollah to manage rocket attacks and defenses, says military; Lebanese media reports over 20 strikes in area
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Israeli Air Force fighter jets carried out a wave of airstrikes in southern Lebanon on Thursday, targeting a “significant underground” Hezbollah facility, the military said.
According to the Israel Defense Forces, the site near the Beaufort Castle, southeast of Nabatieh, was used by the Lebanese terror group to manage rocket fire and defense systems.
At the site, the IDF said it struck “terrorists, weapons, and tunnel shafts.” Lebanese media reported that some 20 strikes were carried out in the area.
The IDF later released footage showing the airstrikes on the underground site. The video also showed a drone strike on a Hezbollah operative in the area of the facility, according to the military.
“This site is part of a significant underground project that, due to IDF strikes, has been rendered inoperable,” the army said.
The IDF added that the facility and the activities carried out there “constitute a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
מצורפים תיעודים מתקיפות צה״ל מוקדם יותר היום באתר הצבאי של ארגון הטרור חיזבאללה במרחב רכס הבופור pic.twitter.com/iMGBUP8o6j
— צבא ההגנה לישראל (@idfonline) May 8, 2025
A November 2024 ceasefire ended more than a year of fighting, including some two months of open war, between Israel and Hezbollah. The fighting began on October 8, 2023, when the Iran-backed terror group started attacking Israel daily with missiles and drones, in support of Hamas.
The ceasefire allows Israel to strike immediate threats, and Israeli forces have carried out near-daily strikes against Hezbollah operatives and their allies. More than 140 Hezbollah operatives have been killed since the start of the ceasefire, according to the military.
سلسلة غارات جوية عنيفة جدا تستهدف منطقة النبطية pic.twitter.com/cyeQcIJpq1
— Lebanon Debate (@lebanondebate) May 8, 2025
Lebanon’s president Joseph Aoun said last week that the country’s army now controls more than 85 percent of the country’s south, from which Hezbollah was obligated to withdraw under the ceasefire, though there has been no outside confirmation of the claim.
Israel was also obligated to withdraw its forces from southern Lebanon. It has pulled out from all but five strategic posts.
The Times of Israel Community.