The Israeli military launched airstrikes Thursday night against Hezbollah’s aerial division, targeting assets located in the Dahieh neighborhood, a stronghold of the group in southern Beirut.
Earlier in the evening, the IDF took the unusual step of publicly announcing its intention to strike what it described as underground sites used for manufacturing drones. These facilities, according to the IDF, were intentionally positioned in densely populated civilian areas of Dahieh.
“Despite the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, the IDF has identified that the Hezbollah aerial unit is operating to produce thousands of UAVs, with the direction and funding of Iranian terrorists,” the IDF stated.
The military further noted that Hezbollah has made drone warfare a key tactic in its recent confrontations with Israel, and is now taking steps to ramp up production in anticipation of future conflict.
“These activities constitute a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon. The Hezbollah terrorist organization creates challenges for the State of Lebanon and thus prevents the implementation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon,” the IDF added.
Concurrently, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesperson issued a public alert directed at residents of Dahieh, particularly those in the Al-Hadath, Haret Hreik, and Burj Al-Barajneh areas. “You are located near facilities belonging to Hezbollah. For your safety and the safety of your families, you are required to evacuate these buildings immediately and move away from them at a distance of no less than 300 meters,” he stated.
Witnesses on the ground described scenes of chaos, with families rushing to escape and growing fears over the looming threat of airstrikes.
Lebanese media reported that the Lebanese Armed Forces entered some of the buildings the IDF had flagged for evacuation. Other reports indicated that Israel had already carried out preliminary warning strikes on certain sites.
{Matzav.com Israel}
