IDF says dozens of Hezbollah anti-ship missiles destroyed in overnight Beirut strikes
Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Dozens of anti-ship missiles stored by Hezbollah under buildings in the Lebanese capital of Beirut were destroyed in Israeli airstrikes overnight, according to the military.
Hezbollah was known by the IDF to be in possession of the Chinese C-704 and C802 missiles, as well as the Iranian Ghader, which have ranges of up to around 200 kilometers.
They were stored, operated, and maintained by a small elite Hezbollah unit, which the IDF describes as very experienced. Members of the shadowy unit who took part in the attack on the Israeli Navy’s INS Hanit in 2006, killing four sailors, are still in service, military sources say.
The overnight strikes in Beirut took out six warehouses where the coast-to-sea missiles were stored and maintained, the military says. The missiles could have been used within minutes from the sites, the IDF says.
The IDF says the missiles posed a threat to Israeli Navy ships, as well as civilian shipping lanes and Israeli strategic threats at sea and near the coast.
The military releases footage of the strikes carried out by fighter jets.