Jerusalem: A series of Israeli airstrikes over recent weeks have destroyed the majority of Hezbollah’s weapons storage and missile manufacturing facilities situated under Beirut’s southern suburbs, the Israeli military said.
The claim came hours after Israeli warplanes launched one of the heaviest daytime airstrikes on the area since the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict began, killing at least six people, according to Lebanese media on Tuesday.
At least 13 airstrikes hit civilian buildings and two medical centres in the southern suburbs, sending up huge clouds of black smoke, Xinhua news agency reported.
The Israeli military said it continues carrying out attacks on Hezbollah sites in the area with intelligence guidance.
So far Hezbollah has not commented on the Israeli claim or the attacks.
The Israeli military has repeatedly claimed that Hezbollah has set up dozens of missile and rocket production and storage facilities within civilian buildings in densely populated areas of Beirut’s southern suburbs over the past 20 years.
One of the main Hezbollah weapons manufacturing plants that was struck recently had been revealed by Israel at the United Nations in 2020, along with other facilities.
According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), that complex was built under five residential buildings in Beirut, which housed some 50 families. The site was also located close to a school.
The IDF said that Hezbollah would manufacture various components at the site, including parts for precision missiles.
Before each of the strikes, the IDF issued evacuation warnings to civilians in the corresponding area.
The military said that Hezbollah’s use of civilian sites for weapon storage and manufacturing “directly endangers the residents of Beirut, as many explosives are hidden under the citizens, often without their knowledge”.
The IDF in its statement also noted that the deadly 2020 Beirut port blast, which occurred after some 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate stored there exploded. The military said that the ammonium nitrate was being “used as a component in Hezbollah’s munitions production process”. More than 220 people were killed in the explosion.
–IANS
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