Illustrative image.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on May 9 accused Hezbollah of attempting to rebuild a weapons manufacturing site in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
In a post on X, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, Colonel Avichay Adraee, said that the weapons site, located under residential buildings and next to a school, was bombed by Israel last November, days before a United States-brokered ceasefire entered into effect.
The spokesman added that after the IDF sent the ceasefire mechanism information on Hezbollah’s attempts to rebuild the site in early January, a surprise inspection was carried out.
“However, aerial photographs show that Hezbollah, which had been informed in advance of the date of the inspection, had evacuated the engineering equipment that had been operating at the site on the day the inspection was conducted, and then returned it after it had ended,” he claimed.
Col. Adraee called Hezbollah’s alleged activity at the site a “blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon under the ceasefire agreement.”
Click to see full-size image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
Click to see full-size image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
Click to see full-size image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
The U.S.-brokered ceasefire was supposed to end the confrontation on the Israeli-Lebanese border, which broke out as a result of the war in the Gaza Strip, by February 18. However, the Israeli military continued to launch strikes against Hezbollah. It also deployed troops at five strategic posts in southern Lebanon.
Israel escalated in the last few weeks, launching two strikes against targets of Hezbollah in Beirut, on March 27 and April 1 in response to rocket attacks which the group denied responsibility for. The second strike killed Hassan Bdair, a senior intelligence commander of the group.
Taking advantage of recent Israeli escalation, the U.S. has been pressuring the Lebanese government to fully disarm Hezbollah.
A senior Hezbollah official told Reuter on April 8 that the group was ready to hold talks with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun about its weapons if Israel withdraws from southern Lebanon and stops its strikes. The official noted that any such discussion should be held in the context of a national defense strategy.
The IDF’s recent accusations against Hezbollah indicate that Israel wants to escalate even more. These accusations will likely be used to renew strikes on Beirut.
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