An Israeli Air Force strike last evening targeted a Hezbollah arms depot in eastern Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley, the Israeli military said. The strike did not result in any fatalities, two security sources said. Lebanon’s health ministry although claims that eight were wounded and the injured included six Lebanese citizens and two Syrian children.
“Following the strikes, secondary explosions were identified, indicating the presence of large amounts of weapons in the facilities struck,” the military said in a statement.
It said earlier strikes in Deir Qanoun and Tayibe south of Lebanon targeted a senior militant in Hezbollah’s Rocket and Missile Unit and a cell operating from a Hezbollah military structure.
Following the depot strike, the Lebanese Agricultural Scientific Research Authority said it would close its research stations in the Beqaa region as a precaution because unexploded missiles landed nearby.
On Saturday, the Israel military said it targeted a weapons depot used by Lebanese armed group Hezbollah militants in an airstrike, killing at least 10 people including two children.
In July, Israeli strikes also targeted another depot storing ammunition belonging to the Iranian-backed group in the town of Adloun in southern Lebanon, three security sources told Reuters.
Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a “support front” with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.
Some 622 people in Lebanon have been killed since the start of the clashes last year, including 416 Hezbollah fighters and 132 civilians.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday during a visit to Tel Aviv that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had accepted a “bridging proposal” presented by Washington to tackle disagreements blocking a ceasefire deal in Gaza, and urged terror outfit Hamas to do the same.
Team Bharatshakti
(With inputs from Reuters)
