Israel confirms striking Hezbollah weapons depots in south Lebanon
A Syrian refugee woman living with others in makeshift tents in south Lebanon, hugs her child after an Israeli air strike targeted the outskirt of town of Burj al-Muluk , some 18kms (11 miles) from the town of Nabatiyeh on July 20, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Lebanon’s Hezbollah fighters. (Photo by Rabih DAHER / AFP)
BEIRUT — The Israeli military on Sunday said it struck Hezbollah weapons storage facilities overnight, after Lebanese state media reported an Israeli strike on an ammunitions depot deep in the south.
Hezbollah has traded near-daily cross-border fire with Israeli forces in support of Hamas since the Palestinian militant group’s October 7 attack on southern Israel triggered war in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli air force “struck two Hezbollah weapons storage facilities in southern Lebanon, containing rockets and additional weaponry”, the military said in a statement.
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Late Saturday, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said “the Israeli enemy launched a raid” on the town of Adloun, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the border with Israel, later saying the target was “an ammunition depot”.
Article continues after this advertisementRockets were still exploding about an hour after the strike was first reported, the NNA said, adding that the blasts “lightly injured three citizens”.
Article continues after this advertisementThe NNA said traffic on the highway linking the southern coastal cities of Sidon and Tyre had been interrupted in both directions Saturday evening, with videos circulating online showing several large explosions in Adloun.
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“Shrapnel from the explosions flew to surrounding villages,” the NNA said.
Earlier on Saturday, Hezbollah and its Palestinian ally Hamas had fired rocket salvos and explosive-laden drones at Israeli positions.
Hezbollah said it had launched “dozens of Katyusha rockets” on northern Israel “in response” to a strike blamed on Israel that injured civilians.
Hamas’s armed wing, the Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, said they also fired a rocket salvo from south Lebanon towards an Israeli military position in the Upper Galilee.
The violence since October has killed at least 515 people in Lebanon, according to an AFP tally. Most of the dead have been fighters, but they have included at least 104 civilians.
On the Israeli side, 18 soldiers and 13 civilians have been killed, according to Israeli authorities.
