IDF launches strikes targeting Hezbollah for 1st time since Lebanon ceasefire extended |
The Israel Defense Forces said Saturday it had launched a wave of airstrikes on Hezbollah infrastructure in southern Lebanon, the first since a ceasefire was extended by 45 days.
The strikes came after the IDF issued evacuation warnings for nine villages in southern Lebanon.
Residents of Qaaqaaiyet al-Snoubar, Kaouthariyet El Saiyad, Merouaniyeh, Ghassaniyeh, Tefahta, Irzay, Babliyeh, Insar and al-Baisariyah were instructed to evacuate at least a kilometer away.
“In light of the Hezbollah terror organization’s violations of the ceasefire agreement, the IDF is forced to act against it with force and does not intend to harm you,” warned army spokesman Col. Avichay Adraee.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported strikes on at least five villages in the south, preceded by an exodus of residents toward the southern city of Sidon and the capital Beirut.
Hezbollah and Israel have continued to attack each other since US President Donald Trump first announced a ceasefire on April 16, which has now largely unraveled, though fighting remains at a lower level than before.
Shortly before the ceasefire extension was announced on Friday evening, at least six people were killed, including three paramedics, in a strike on a civil defense center in southern Lebanon, the Lebanese state news agency said, with 22 wounded.
There was no statement on the........