IDF strikes Beirut for first time in days amid US concerns over bombing campaign
Israel says strikes in Beirut, Nabatiyeh targeted Hezbollah arms caches, command centers; engineers raze terror group’s bunker network as ground troops press on supported by navy
Israel on Wednesday confirmed striking Beirut overnight, after several days without targeting the Lebanese capital amid Washington’s concerns over the scope of the bombing campaign in recent weeks, as ground forces clashed with Hezbollah operatives in southern Lebanon.
AFP witnesses said Israeli jets carried out at least two strikes in south Beirut’s Dahiyeh suburb, the terror group’s stronghold, some five hours after Hezbollah fired a rocket barrage at Safed in northern Israel.
In a statement, the IDF said Israeli Air Force fighter jets, guided by intelligence operatives, struck an underground weapons cache belonging to Hezbollah.
The military said it took steps to avoid civilian casualties ahead of the strike, including issuing an evacuation order for the area.
The IDF said its planes also struck dozens of Hezbollah targets, including weapons stashes and command centers, around southern Lebanon’s Nabatiyeh, where Hezbollah and its ally Amal hold sway.
Lebanese security sources say that the mayor of Nabatiyeh and five others were killed in the strike, which they said hit municipal infrastructure in the city.
The last time Israel struck Beirut was on Thursday when two strikes near the city center were said to have killed 22 people and brought down entire buildings in a densely populated neighborhood.
Hebrew and Arabic media said the strike had targeted top Hezbollah official Wafiq Safa, who reportedly survived. The IDF has not commented on the strike.
Asked Tuesday about Israel’s campaign, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington has “made clear that we are opposed to the campaign the way we’ve seen it conducted over the past weeks” in Beirut.
Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati said Tuesday that he had received guarantees from the White House that Israel would scale back attacks on Beirut, though Israeli officials have denied acquiescing to such a demand.
The strikes came after Hezbollah fired a salvo toward the northern Israeli city of Safed early Wednesday. The army said the barrage comprised about 50 projectiles.
One of the rockets struck the yard of a home, causing minor damage, and two people were taken to hospital after being lightly hurt while running to bomb shelters, according to the municipality.
Meanwhile, the IDF said Wednesday that over the past day, troops with the 98th Paratroopers Division in southern Lebanon have killed dozens of Hezbollah operatives and struck over 140 Hezbollah targets in more than 50 areas in Lebanon.
The military said the Hezbollah fighters were killed in face-to-face combat and airstrikes. IDF troops also discovered rocket launchers, mortars, grenades, anti-tank missiles and other arms aimed at northern Israeli towns, the army said, adding that weapon caches were destroyed both above and below ground.
The 8th Reserve Brigade and the elite Yahalom combat engineering unit also destroyed a tunnel and bunker network belonging to Hezbollah’s elite Radwan force, according to the IDF.
The underground complex, which included rooms for extended stays and weapons caches, was situated under civilian homes, according to the army, which said the network was part of the Radwan force’s preparations for invading northern Israel.
In southern Lebanon’s western sector, bordering the Mediterranean, the Israeli Navy struck dozens of Hezbollah targets on Wednesday in support of the 146th Division, including launchers, military positions and weapons caches, the IDF said.
Israel launched ground operations in Lebanon on September 30, a week after stepping up attacks on Hezbollah and all but decimating the Iran-backed terror group’s leadership.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rebuffed global leaders’ calls for a ceasefire, and angered European allies by insisting that the international peacekeeping force UNIFIL leave its posts in southern Lebanon to avoid getting caught in the crossfire between Israel and Hezbollah.
The 8th Brigade in the 91st Division destroy a Hezbollah Radwan force underground complex in southern Lebanon. pic.twitter.com/YUFWQcHevQ
— Lazar Berman (@Lazar_Berman) October 16, 2024
The escalation came after Israel added to its official war aims the return home of some 60,000 displaced northern residents. Fearing a Hezbollah onslaught in the north, Israel evacuated the residents shortly after thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, to kill nearly 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
A day later, Hezbollah-led forces began attacking border communities and military positions on a near-daily basis, with the terror group saying it was doing so in support of Gaza.
The attacks on northern Israel over the past year have claimed the lives of 28 civilians, and 38 IDF soldiers have been killed in the attacks and ensuing ground operations in Lebanon.
The Lebanese government has said that Israeli strikes have killed at least 2,300 people in Lebanon over the last year, mainly in the last few weeks. According to the IDF, the toll includes at least 960 Hezbollah operatives.
