Wave of IDF strikes target Hezbollah arms depots, operatives in southern Lebanon

Israeli forces struck Hezbollah infrastructure and operatives throughout southern Lebanon and along the border with Syria on Wednesday, the Israel Defense Forces said. The strikes followed evacuation warnings issued to residents of several southern Lebanese towns.

IDF Targets Weapon Depots and Smuggling Routes

According to the IDF, one series of strikes targeted Hezbollah weapon depots, including one located underground. The army stated that the targeted infrastructure was located within civilian areas, accusing Hezbollah of using Lebanese civilians as human shields.

The IDF also reported striking four land crossings on the Lebanese-Syrian border in Lebanon’s northern Hermel region, alleging these routes were used by Hezbollah to smuggle weapons. A “key” Hezbollah weapons smuggler, Mohammad Awatsheh, was killed in a separate strike near Sidon, according to the military. Awatsheh was reportedly involved in managing weapon transfers, including through front companies.

Hezbollah Operative Killed, Accusations of Ceasefire Violation

Earlier Wednesday, an Israeli airstrike killed Abu Ali Salameh, a Hezbollah “liaison officer” in the village of Yanouh. The IDF alleges Salameh prevented the Lebanese army from dismantling a weapons cache in southern Lebanon last month, coordinating with the army to falsely report the site as empty. The military claims this constitutes a violation of the November 2024 ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon.

The Lebanese army issued a statement decrying the Israeli targeting of “civilian buildings and homes” as a “blatant violation of Lebanon’s sovereignty” and the ceasefire deal, adding that such attacks “hinder the army’s efforts” to disarm the group.

An AFP photographer was slightly wounded, along with two other journalists, near the site of a heavy strike in Qennarit.

Since the ceasefire, the IDF said it has killed over 400 Hezbollah operatives and members of allied groups, hit hundreds of Hezbollah sites, and conducted over 1,200 raids in southern Lebanon.