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Israel shifted its attention back to Lebanon on June 27, attacking a key facility of Hezbollah in the Beaufort Castle area in the south of the country.
In a statement, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said that the facility, a part of an underground Hezbollah site that was previously targeted, was being used by the group to “manage its fire and defense array.”
“In recent days, the IDF identified attempts by the Hezbollah terror organization to restore the site, and therefore the terror infrastructure in the area was struck,” the military said.
The IDF added that the “presence of this site and the attempts to reestablish it constitute a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
Following the attack, the Lebanese Health Ministry announced that one woman was killed and 11 other people were injured in an Israeli strike on an apartment in the town of Nabatieh, located some seven kilometers to the northwest of Beaufort Castle.
The IDF, however, denied carrying out a strike on Nabatieh, instead blaming a Hezbollah rocket that was launched amid the strikes on the nearby facility.
“The IDF did not target any civilian building,” said the military’s Arabic-language spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee. “According to the information we have, the building was hit by a rocket projectile that was stored at the site, and was launched and exploded as a result of the airstrike.”
Videos posted to social networks did show dozens of secondary blasts at the targeted facility, which suggests that its underground structure was breached as a result of the Israeli attack.
Just a day earlier, a home in the southern Lebanon town of Houla, allegedly used by Hezbollah to observe Israel, was demolished by the IDF.
The home belonged to Ahmad Ghazi Ali, a Hezbollah operative killed in a drone strike in Houla a week ago, according to the military.
“The structure was used by the Hezbollah terror organization for military activity, including attempts to gather intelligence on IDF troops,” the military said in a statement, adding that “the terrorists’ activity in the structure constituted a clear violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon.”
The IDF said the demolition was carried out by the 769th “Hiram” Regional Brigade in what was described as “a special operation.”
Israel strikes have reportedly killed more than 180 members of Hezbollah since a ceasefire with Lebanon brokered by the United States came into effect on November 27. In addition, the IDF has refused to completely withdraw from southern Lebanon in line with the agreement, keeping troops at five strategic posts in the region.
Hezbollah has so far refrained from responding in any shape or form, likely to focus on reorganizing its ranks. For Israel, this may be an opportunity.
The recent attacks by the IDF suggest that Israel, which just completed an attack on Iran’s nuclear program, may be now preparing to renew the war on Lebanon.
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