Click to see full-size image. (The Israeli Defense Forces)
A series of Israeli strikes targeted southern Lebanon, the heartland of Hezbollah, on January 5 amid rising tensions over the recent assassination of Saleh al-Arouri, deputy leader of the Palestinian Hamas Movement, in the southern suburb of Beirut.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that the strikes hit targets of Hezbollah in the towns of Ayta al-Shab and Majdal Zoun.
The targets included various infrastructure used by Hezbollah, along with an observation post and military site manned by the group’s fighters, according to the IDF. Video footage of the strikes, which were carried out by fighter jets of the Israeli Air Force, was released.
In addition to the strikes announced by the IDF, heavy shelling targeted the towns of Fardis and Rachaya al-Foukhar. Lebanese media didn’t report any losses however.
Hezbollah didn’t announce any attacks against the IDF during the day, possibly due to poor weather conditions along the Lebanese-Israeli border. Still, the group released video footage showing a missile attack on a gathering of Israeli troops near the al-Marj that took place on January 2.
The group and allies, including Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, has been launching attacks against the IDF since the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip last October.
Tensions rose on the Lebanese-Israeli on January 2 after Saleh al-Arouri, deputy leader of the Hamas Movement, was killed in an Israeli drone strike outside the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
Hezbollah has vowed that it will respond. The group’s leader Hassan Nasrallah stressed during a televised speech on January 5 that Israel will be punished for the assassination, warning that silence over the attack will leave Lebanon exposed.
