Illustrative image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launched on July 31 a series of strikes against “strategic weapons” manufacturing and storage infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and in the eastern Beqaa Valley.
The targets included a facility used to manufacture explosives and an underground site where Hezbollah built and stored precision-guided missiles, the military said in a statement, claiming that the strikes were carried out after it had identified efforts by Hezbollah to restore the sites.
The facility in the Beqaa Valley, which is alleged to be Hezbollah’s largest weapons production plant, has been targeted several times by the IDF, including since the November ceasefire.
Hezbollah’s activities in the targeted sites “constitute a violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the IDF added.
Commenting on the strikes, Defense Minister Israel Katz warned that “any attempt by the terrorist organization to restore, reestablish itself, or pose a threat will be met with uncompromising force.”
The ceasefire reached in November was brokered by the United States. The IDF didn’t only continue to target Hezbollah amid the ceasefire, but also kept troops at five strategic posts in southern Lebanon, the heartland of the group, in defiance of the agreement.
The latest strikes came just a day after Hezbollah Secretary-General Naim Qassem rejected, yet again, any talk about disarmament in the face of mounting pressure by the U.S.
In a televised address marking the first anniversary of the targeted killing by Israel of senior commander Fuad Shukr, Qassem stated that those demanding its disarmament are “serving the Israeli project,” accusing U.S. envoy Tom Barrack of “intimidating” Lebanon with the aim of “aiding Israel.”
“Anyone calling today for the surrender of weapons, whether internally or externally, on the Arab or the international stage, is serving the Israeli project,” the leader said.
The Israeli strikes were clearly a response to Qassem. While Hezbollah will not likely respond, the group is certainly not going to change its stance. Israel could escalate even further in the coming days as it believes that Hezbollah is currently at its weakest.
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