Click to see full-size image. By Al-Manar TV correspondent Ali Shoeib.
On December 20 morning, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced that it had carried out a series of airstrikes against targets of Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
The targets include military sites where Hezbollah members operated and other infrastructure, according to the IDF. Lebanese media said that the airstrikes hit the outskirts of the town of Ayta al-Shab, which is a known stronghold of Hezbollah.
Following the strikes, Hezbollah announced in four separate statements that its fighters shelled the al-Abad site, fired Burkan heavy rockets at the al-Raheb site, targeted IDF howitzers near the Khirbet Maar village site and hit an Israeli infantry force in the Birkat Risha site.
In another statement, the group also said that it had fired anti-aircraft missiles at two Israeli attack helicopters which were operating over the settlements of Shtula, Shumira and Even Menachem, forcing them to retreat. This was later confirmed by the IDF, which also reported a rocket attack on northern Israel.
The attacks were carried out “to support the steadfast Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and in support of their brave and honorable resistance,” according to the statements released by Hezbollah.
The IDF announced the second wave of airstrikes on southern Lebanon in the afternoon. The airstrikes hit military buildings, rocket launch sites, a command center, and a weapons depot of Hezbollah. The IDF also said that it had carried out tank and artillery shelling at areas along the Lebanon border, to “remove threats.”
Israeli attacks on southern Lebanon didn’t result in any civilian casualties. However, Hezbollah said that two of its fighters were killed “on the road to Jerusalem.”
The clashes on the Lebanese-Israeli border first broke out after the start of the war in Gaza, with Hezbollah and its allies carrying out attacks in support of the Strip.
So far, the clashes on the border have resulted in four civilian deaths on the Israeli side, as well as the deaths of seven IDF soldiers. On the Lebanese side, more than 120 have been killed. The toll includes 108 Hezbollah members, ten of whom were killed in Syria, 16 Palestinian fighters, at least 14 civilians and three journalists.
